


A Spark in the Dark

by Silent_Rain



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Attempt at Humor, Bickering, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Fairies, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Light & Dark magic, M/M, Magical School Life, Mermaids, Mutual Pining, Mystery, Overcoming prejudice, POV Multiple, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Tension, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 67,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27104155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silent_Rain/pseuds/Silent_Rain
Summary: Witches and fairies don’t get along. That’s how it’s always been.Now, what happens when the two most prestigious academies of the opposing magic users decide to lay down their decades long rivalry and try building bridges instead? Naturally, the different values deeply ingrained into the mindsets of the students from both schools are going to clash - darkness mixes with light and strict traditions stand contrary to free-spirited candor. Four months spent in an ancient castle by the sea will show if there is hope for a flourishing future between fairies and witches after all.And not only that, as there appears to be a deeper reason behind the unlikely collaboration, waiting to be revealed...
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Jung Wooyoung/Kang Yeosang, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 81
Kudos: 241





	1. Prologue

In life and nature there were certain things that simply did not go well together. This fact seemed easy to understand and became as strong and obvious as it got within the world of magic and its users. You couldn’t mix all the different forms with each other carelessly and expect the outcome to be smooth and peaceful. Instead you should take care of keeping them separated at all times, preventing any potential conflict breaking out.

That’s how it had been for centuries, rivalries and resentments between opposing fractions being kept on the low, fed into as least as possible. To keep the calm and preserve a sophisticated and intellectual image on the outside everywhere. It had been working moderately well, no apparent reason for diminishing these mannerisms in sight.

So why, for the love of the blessed forest, was this ancient unspoken rule suddenly about to be broken, by none other than the two parties who had been providing the prime example of its implementation for decades?

Fairies and witches - they didn’t mingle, _ever_. Both drew their magical powers from very contrasting sources, light standing opposite of darkness. Furthermore it was well-known that fairies took additional care of their magic itself and appreciated it as an equal force made from nature, while witches dominated and cultivated their abilities strictly for their own gains and couldn’t care less about a gentler approach. Feeding into all those stereotypes it was almost regarded as a fact in the magical world that free-spirited fairies were rather weak compared to strong and stern witches.

Which was absolutely _not_ true. Hongjoong would know, having tried to prove how fairies were way superior already multiple times. That was also why he couldn’t imagine getting along with those pompous people and their arrogant mindset at all.

According to his teachers he - along with his fellow advanced year students - would have to do exactly that though, and soon. Four months spent together with the witches of the West, locked in an abandoned castle by the ocean formerly having served as an academy for mermaids before their numbers became too low to sustain it and the small part still left moved into the sea collectively. It was also located right at the border between the territories of light and dark magic, which truly made it the perfect place to bond.

_You gotta be kidding me._

Hongjoong sighed deeply, zoning out the chatter of his two friends he shared a table with. They were still in their academy’s dining hall, all students having been summoned to listen to the grand announcement and plan of reuniting witches and fairies. After a surprisingly short explanation by their headmistress, the whole room had erupted into mortified yet partly excited whispers, every table sharing their thoughts animatedly over a dinner served earlier than usual for the “special occasion”.

Hongjoong was still stuck on the finishing statement of how this would be a great chance to settle all the outdated conflict about any differences with the help of the soothing ocean waves, trying to overcome the initial shock. Only when one of his friends, Yunho, spoke directly to him he was able to refocus.

“What do you think?”, Yunho asked and Hongjoong blinked before putting on an expression of disdain.

“I’ve never heard an idea more ridiculous. It’s gonna be a completely wasted effort.”

The third person at their table, Wooyoung, giggled. “As I’d expect from you. No one else I know dislikes witches as much as you.”

 _Dislike_ might even be too light of a word for it.

“So what? It’s what they deserve and I seriously can’t believe our schools are forcing us to interact and… _bond_ like that”, Hongjoong continued complaining.

“It will still be an interesting experience, regardless of the outcome. Who knows, maybe it’s even gonna end up being a success and then we can count ourselves among the pioneers who finally made peace with the scary witches - who might not even be as terrible as we think”, Yunho throws in, ever his optimistic and kind-hearted self, the peachy curls of his hair adding greatly to the innocent image despite his tall height.

“They are”, Hongjoong deadpanned, “terrible, that is.”

“Just because you only had negative encounters with them so far doesn’t mean they’re all like that”, Yunho insisted and Hongjoong answered him non-verbally by taking a bite of his citrus salad while rolling his eyes.

“You gotta admit, the thing at the last inter-academic congress was pretty nasty”, Wooyoung threw in, finally digging into his own food too.

_Ah yes, the congress._

Hongjoong didn’t enjoy thinking back to the occasion from a year ago. He had gotten into a fight that had almost turned into a magical duel with one of the witches - or rather, one of the wizards, as the male members of their community still often called themselves - while waiting for their joint lecture about potions to start. The guy had been unfortunately seated right next to him and started provoking him for no other damn reason than getting on his nerves.

Hongjoong hadn’t taken long to retaliate in turn, counting a rather short temper among his most prominent qualities, signaled well already through his flaming red hair alone. They had caused quite a scene and if it hadn’t been for Wooyoung holding him back - the same went for another guy on the rude wizard’s side - Hongjoong might as well have gotten into a proper fight with him. He didn’t regret it one bit though.

“At least someone is on my side here.” He didn’t actually blame Yunho for his faith, as the latter hadn’t been present at the time, having registered for another lecture instead. Still, he stood by his point. Any other encounter he’d had with witches had been more similar to that incident than not, solidifying his strong distrust in the dark magic users additionally to them practicing opposing kinds of lifestyles and teachings.

“Yeah, that guy was a real idiot. I hope we won’t meet him again.” Wooyoung shook his head and now it was Yunho’s turn to sigh. “Quite unlikely since he’s certainly around our age taking the same joint classes but from what you told me about him he definitely wasn’t the best example of a wizard.”

“Wrong. He totally was”, Hongjoong said, entirely convinced that _this_ was what witches were all about. They didn’t care for the essence of magic, much less about all the nature where it came from. And they didn’t respect those who did, labeling them weaklings when in fact they themselves were the poor ones with their warped way of thinking.

“I’d hope not. Those four months will be an absolute nightmare otherwise.” Yunho’s mood visibly deflated, a frown appearing on his face.

Wooyoung remained unfazed, chewing on his salad in an unbothered way. “Whatever, it’s no use panicking about it now. We’ll see what our academies have planned to make us get along and then proceed accordingly. That’s the only thing we can do after all.”

Hongjoong knew his friend was right but he didn’t want to accept it. The mere thought of trying to get along with witches of all people put him on edge and gave him a very bad feeling in his gut. This supposed collaboration could only turn out to be a huge failure.

~*~

Seonghwa threw himself on his bed, suppressing the urge to yell into his pillow, throwing it over his face. “I can’t believe this! What is the headmaster even thinking?”

Yeosang, his roommate and best friend, entered right after him through the door Seonghwa had left open, closing it quietly. “You’re being unnecessarily dramatic. Why are you getting so worked up over some fairies?”

Seonghwa groaned. “Faires, Yeosang. _Fairies_ ”, came his muffled words, as if it would suffice as an explanation. And it should. Because there was no way he or any of his fellow witches and wizards would be able to do this the way their teachers wanted them to.

Yeosang stepped closer and snatched the pillow from Seonghwa’s hands. “So? Fairies are huge softies who will cry when you accidentally step on a random flower while mixing some herbs praying for sunshine. I heavily doubt they’ll be of any threat to us.”

“That’s my whole point. Their useless lifestyle and how they’re practicing magic is so far away from ours that it’s impossible to make it work together in a beneficial way”, Seonghwa mumbled, slowly sitting up and running a hand through his black hair, once again questioning the sanity of whoever developed this plan.

Yeosang put a chin on his hand thoughtfully. “That’s why I’d rather see this as an opportunity to prove how us wizards are still the superior magic users. It could actually turn out to be a highly complex experiment, revealing who are the better students after all. It would end the ongoing animosity differently than expected, but I wouldn’t mind.”

Seonghwa could admit that his friend had a point, but he still didn’t want to accept it.

A knock sounded on their door and before either of them could react the door swung open and in came San and Mingi, another pair of roommates and the second duo of their quartet of friends they had formed over the years through shared classes and interests.

“Cursed thunder, have you received the notification too?”, Mingi began, straight to the point as always, throwing himself in one of the plush armchairs at the window. San joined Seonghwa on his bed, sitting down next to him with wide eyes. Yeosang handed him the pillow he was still holding. “Indeed we have.”

They had gotten the instruction to check their shared post box - just like all the others it seemed - and in there they had found the ominous letter, written personally by their headmaster. Seonghwa remained in denial.

“I can’t believe our academy agreed to cooperate with the fairies’ just like that. I bet it was _their_ idea in the first place”, Mingi continued, pushing up his glasses and pouting, clearly upset. “They’re our opposing force, we can’t get along with them, may it be magically or in any other way.”

“Don’t be so grumpy. Isn’t it you who’s always the best in anything we’re studying that’s on the lighter side of things?”, San effectively called him out, speaking for the first time.

“Truly, one would think you’d be looking forward to practicing sweet magic with some cute fairies”, Yeosang added and upon Mingi being flustered he smoothly followed up with “or maybe that’s why you’re so against it in the first place. Supposedly.”

“No. I’m not happy with this arrangement”, came the retort but it lacked substance.

 _Wonderful. One of my closest friends already lost_ , Seonghwa thought, slightly displeased, though it definitely didn’t come as a surprise. If anyone could make this absurd idea work in the form it was intended to take, it was Mingi with his outgoing yet shy - uncharacteristically so for a wizard - personality. He would have to pretend the least in handling the fairies. He was probably just faking anger for his friends’ sake.

“If that’s what you want to believe”, San sighed, squeezing the pillow in his arms. “This ruined our day off before it even started.”

“Who said it’s ruined? After a message like that we need to make it even better than originally planned”, Seonghwa tried lightening the mood, grateful for any distraction he could get. According to the letter they only had one week left until the trip to the old castle they’d call their home for the next four months then, sharing it with the fairy students. Seonghwa felt a headache coming on. This was not going to end well.

“Agreed. Let’s go out, get some shopping done and then relax with some games.” Mingi was done with the topic just as much, not having calculated in everyone turning on him immediately.

“Sure. Let’s meet at the entrance in ten minutes”, Yeosang suggested, heading to his dresser and searching for a bag to carry stuff in. San nodded and put a reassuring hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder for a moment before getting up and leaving together with Mingi.

“One week…”, Seonghwa stated, to no one in particular.

“One week!”, Yeosang still replied mock-cheerfully, offering the back of his white-blonde head while rummaging through his closet. His fake enthusiasm almost made Seonghwa smile. Almost.

“Maybe you'll see that guy from the last congress again. This time I won't stop you from fighting him”, Yeosang continued, amusement dripping from his voice.

Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Oh please, I’ll just hit him with a quieting spell on sight.”

“Admittedly it was you who provoked him in the first place.”

“Only because I overheard a part of the conversation between him and his friend that I didn't like.” Seonghwa hated getting defensive but thinking back to this unfortunate encounter with the irritating fairy he couldn't help it.

Yeosang sighed, finally turning around and throwing his trusted burgundy rucksack on his bed. “But that was none of your business. No wonder he got mad.” He paused, a small glint entering his eyes. “He sure did have quite a temperament though, a pretty rare quality for a fairy.”

Seonghwa regarded him suspiciously. “What are you implying?”

Yeosang shrugged. “Just that we may get some entertainment out of this at least while simultaneously broadening our horizons - as our dear headmaster phrased it in his letter.”

It was Seonghwa’s turn to sigh. “I hope you'll be correct in your assumptions.”

“I usually am”, Yeosang said with conviction. “Now stop moping around and get ready or I’ll leave without you.”

Seonghwa could do that. Even if he still had a bad feeling about this collaboration brewing in his gut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thanks for being interested in my story! It means a lot to me because this is my first time writing a fanfiction. I'm starting slow with just the prologue but I'm planning on posting weekly updates since I'm quite inspired with this story right now. English is not my first language, so I'm sorry about any potential mistakes - feel free to point them out to me anytime.  
> Stay tuned!


	2. I

“Not only is this trip itself the most futile project I’ve ever heard of, but now we gotta travel to this castle like peasants who don’t know a thing about magical modes of transportation? Way to give the witches exactly the kind of impression they’re waiting to have of us.” Hongjoong’s irritated voice cut through the fresh morning air like a sharp knife, echoing slightly through the forest due to its raised volume.

“If we didn’t know proper magic we wouldn’t be able to make our luggage float beside us, would we?” Yunho made a good point but it did next to nothing in improving Hongjoong’s mood. Apparently the castle by the ocean wasn’t extremely far away, which made sense considering the fairy academy of the East was located comparably near the coast, only a daylong march between them. For this reason the teachers had decided to let the students make the journey on foot together with them without further ado. Hongjoong was overjoyed - not.

“That won’t be enough to impress those snobs”, he grumbled, cursing silently when he almost stumbled over a protruding root. _It’s not as if we could simply summon our wings and fly after all._

“The forest heard you. Don’t be so rude”, Wooyoung scolded him, letting his own hand brush through the leaves of a prettily blooming bush, its blossoms the same mellow shade of lavender as his hair. The sun was steadily starting to rise, gifting the first rays of light through the thicket of the wood, illuminating drops of dew on the greenery all around. 

Under normal circumstances Hongjoong could imagine nothing better than walking through the awakening nature like this on a mild summer morning. He felt connected to his magic, his element, _his_ nature. But considering his destination and what awaited him there turned his demeanor into something sour and sulking. Not even the beauty of the forest was able to lift his spirits. 

“So you want to impress them? What a twist”, came Yunho’s amused voice from the front and it took Hongjoong a second to remember what he was referring to. “You know I didn’t mean it like that”, he huffed, crooking the fingers of his right hand slightly to make his suitcase float a bit closer. The whole group of students was moving at a comfortable pace, friendly conversations filling the misty air and pieces of baggage hovering above the leafy ground, following their owners easily. “Keep telling yourself that'', Wooyoung chuckled and Hongjoong glared at him from the corner of his eye. His friends could mock him all they wanted, trying to persuade him to think about this attempt at peace positively. He wouldn’t change his attitude. And he’d let the witches know that. He’d show them who was weak and it certainly wouldn’t be him. 

“I’m curious about the sea. I’ve never been there before”, Yunho swiftly changed the topic to something more enjoyable. “Swimming in the ocean must be amazing.”

Wooyoung nodded. “You bet. The last time I went to a coast town with my parents it was great. I mean, I was still a kid back then but I only have nice memories.” Hongjoong had never been to the sea either but he trusted his words. He could already feel the pull of the endless blue, the magic inside him dancing happily with the prospect of discovering a new part of nature. At least he’d get one good thing out of this mess. 

“Do you think they’ll let us take long walks on the beach?” Yunho’s tone took on a dreamy note. “Only hopeless romantics like you, I’m sure”, Hongjoong surmised with humor in his voice, earning a small laugh from Wooyoung. 

“I’d actually like to do that though. I also want to meet a mermaid”, Yunho said determinedly. 

“A mermaid…”, Wooyoung repeated, slightly in awe and with a far-away look in his eyes. “I think I saw one that one time, years ago. Sometimes I’m getting doubts, but what if it really was one?”

“How did it look?”, Yunho inquired, slowing his steps and getting closer to Wooyoung, intrigued beyond measure. “I couldn’t see its whole body, only what I thought to be the tail. It was red, sparkling and I’ve never seen a _fish_ possess something extraordinary like that”, Wooyoung explained, calling on his memories. 

“Well, since the place we’re about to spend four months in is a former academy for mermaids it’s not unlikely that some of them still live close to the area. Maybe we’ll get the chance to encounter one or two.” Hongjoong felt his own curiosity being sparked, always eager to learn more about the world around him and its creatures, magical or not. Apart from witches, went without saying.

“I can’t wait.” Yunho drew out the last word, hopping along the forest path even happier than before. Hongjoong wished he could share his joy.

~*~

The castle was magnificent. It stood right between the end of the forest and a long beach leading into the sea, separating them yet creating a bridge, all the while emitting an aura of ancient magic and knowledge, both of which had passed through its halls a very long time ago. The subtle hum of contrasting magic mixing in the air further confirmed its position and function as a kind of border between the East and West - light and dark. No clear roads were leading towards it making it completely secluded from other territories. From the outside the castle was nothing short of grande, the glossy aquamarine facade decorated with an unmatched level of detailed work and sparkling windows, breathtaking and worth admiring for hours. 

Dubbing it merely “sea castle” didn’t do it enough justice, at least in Seonghwa’s opinion. He and his fellow witches and wizards had arrived at the location a while ago, having taken one of the magically enhanced trains - count on the West to pride itself in being the most advanced in combining useful spells with industrialization of any kind - driving for several hours until the closest possible town and eventually having made the last part of the trip by flying on their manifested brooms. Like proper witches, obviously. 

Now they were all waiting in the wide front yard of the castle, the sun beginning its descent over the carved roof and winding towers of the old academy. Seonghwa couldn’t wait for night to come - it was his favorite time of the day. As it should be for a wizard, _obviously_. 

He also couldn’t help a slight twitch of his eye upon remembering all the differences they’d have to face and potentially overcome as soon as the fairies arrived. It was already preposterous that it wasn’t the latter waiting for them to finally turn up but Seonghwa thought it showed again how these people were severely lacking in the area of manners. A part of him even wished they wouldn’t appear at all. 

Quickly scanning through the crowd of students gathered around the courtyard, Seonghwa noticed that most of them seemed to share his disapproval. Meanwhile their teachers were patiently talking among themselves, not an ounce of dissatisfaction coming from their direction. The final week before their departure had been filled with classes even more tiring than usual, some of them even aiming for the preparation of light magic spells. It earned the professors evident discontent and a rather negative reaction from the students but they didn’t let themselves be bothered by it.

_They’re actually making us do this. What is the reason for this madness?_

Seonghwa moved away from the - empty and unactivated - fountain he had been leaning against, strolling towards his small group of friends who were currently engrossed in studying the artistic carvings on the wall next to the huge castle main gate. Mingi and San took turns touching the surface and looking at it from different perspectives while Yeosang stood by, an unreadable look on his face. 

“This simply _has_ to have been done with magic. No one could create something as detailed as this without some spells to help”, San was saying just as Seonghwa joined them.

“Of course the mermaids did, this was their school after all. Water and sea magic are truly fascinating”, Mingi added, squatting and cocking his head exaggeratedly. Their own academy was a castle not unlike this one, but despite being impressive and more intimidating than not it did not nearly contain the great amount of subtle and smooth air of magic surrounding the artworks and ornamentations of this place. 

“Mermaids, huh”, Seonghwa made his presence known and got an acknowledging glance from Yeosang. “I’d definitely prefer those to whoever we’ll be facing soon.”

“I know I’ve originally looked at this experiment optimistically but I’ll have to backtrack now that we’re actually in this situation”, Yeosang agreed, voice void of emotions. “I don’t want to play nice with a bunch of fairies of all people.”

“My sentiments exactly.” Seonghwa avoided the annoyed look Mingi shot him, closely followed by San. After his initial - clearly fake - burst of anger Mingi had proceeded to share his unbridled excitement about the collaboration nearly everyday, eventually even pulling San to his side. 

“You two should get it together. If you’re so against it then just go with the flow - no one’s forcing you to interact with any of them more than strictly necessary, so let go of those pouting faces.” San was still trying his best to make them feel better, but neither Yeosang nor Seonghwa would trust his musings.

“You don’t know that. With the way this is going so far I’m actually at least seventy percent convinced that they’ll make us spend time with them as much as possible, whether we like it or not”, Yeosang replied with disregard, though upon seeing how San’s expression fell - as much as he had been convinced by Mingi, he still kept some of his wariness - he quickly added, “Not that I’ve stopped hoping for the opposite. For now.”

“Same”, Seonghwa added for the lack of anything else to say. 

“You guys are no fun, seriously.” Mingi squeezed himself in between them, putting his arms around both their shoulders, his height proving to be quite useful. “This stupid rivalry is _so_ outdated. We are not the generations before us, we know better than to let prejudice cloud our minds. The next few months are in our hands, they’ll become what we make of them, so let’s make them amazing.” He meant that from the bottom of his heart and Seonghwa felt it. So did Yeosang apparently, as he finally let some fondness color his features again. “You’re right. Sorry.”

They wouldn’t try to make this work out for themselves, but maybe they could put in a little effort for their friend’s sake as his words undoubtedly did have a core of truth to them.

~*~

It turned night until the fairy students arrived at the sea castle. As predicted, it took them the whole day traveling through the forest, only passing by one small village on the way where they could take a break and rest. Once the woods around them began thinning and giving way to a more sandy rather than grassy and earthy ground they knew their destination was close. With their advanced hearing they were even able to hear the sound of ocean waves in the distance. 

Their teachers had informed them that the witches would already be there, waiting for them and Hongjoong couldn’t help the tiny bit of glee he felt upon hearing that they had made those arrogant posers wait. It was what they deserved.

At the same time he also felt increasingly nervous though, contrary to his two friends, squealing in delight once the castle entered their sights. Emerging from the sparse bordering part of the forest they found that the witches had created many floating balls of contained fire, lighting up the broad expanse of the front yard. 

Hongjoong recognized this spell. He had performed it himself several times before - it was light magic. He felt confused at this realization. Why had the witches not simply let the fire roam freely without a barrier as their nature would have suggested? Had they willingly used a peaceful kind of magic instead? Hongjoong’s suspicion only grew. The lights made the castle itself look slightly menacing, a looming mass of black in the background. He wanted to see it properly by day, bathed in sunlight and far from any shadows.

The witches picked up on their new companions immediately, every head turning into the fairies’ direction, quiet suddenly filling the balmy night air. Hongjoong gulped. Even Wooyoung and Yunho had stopped walking, their excitement dulled down quickly.

The fairy headmistress put a smile on her face, stepping forward, one of the older-looking wizards mirroring her in turn. This was probably the opposing headmaster, clad in shades of the richest royal blue and purple Hongjoong had ever seen, just like his crowd of students. The contrast between their dark robes and the fairies’ bright pastel tunics was stark. 

“Welcome to the sea castle! We have been awaiting your arrival”, he said in a perfectly friendly and disarming way.

“Thank you, we appreciate it greatly”, their own headmistress replied accordingly, summoning one of the fire orbs into her hands and continuing right away, “This is marvellous spellwork. I would know, seeing as this is one of the most famous formulas in light magic.”

The headmaster seemed pleased. “It is an honor to receive such a compliment from you. Considering our mutual ambitions of creating a cooperative and peaceful environment, my students wanted to express our goodwill by showing a bit of our knowledge of spells frequently done by fairies. They hope to learn even more in the coming months under your expertise.”

Just like that, the tense atmosphere lifted, the fairies regarding the other group of students with wide eyes, some even offering a small smile, surprised at the considerate gesture. 

Hongjoong was no exception. He didn’t know how to deal with the feeling of approval rising in his chest, the light of the orbs illuminating the witches’ faces more clearly and making him reconsider them once more.

_Maybe they're slightly better than I thought._

The headmistress’ smile became even sweeter and then she turned around to face her students. “Did you hear that, my dear fairies? Don’t we want to show them our own benevolence as well?”

She received a wave of motivated calls. Gesturing around the courtyard she guided their attention to the empty fountains. “Do you see how bleak these fountains look? We should give them their life back, what do you think?”

She wanted to fill them with water, making them gush and fizz again as they were supposed to do. And Hongjoong knew exactly how she wanted to accomplish it. So did his fellow students, hesitating for a few seconds but eventually stepping out and reaching for their magic.

Theoretically they’d be able to summon water from the nearby sea. But that wouldn’t be the right choice considering the context. Instead, the spell they’d collectively perform now was about as dark as it got for a fairy. They’d pull the water from the plants and earth surrounding them, extracting its essence and thus effectively depriving it of its main source of life. Magic like that would usually only be used if a fairy needed the water for themselves, for survival or a very urgent ritual. In this case it happened for mere entertainment purposes - and it would surely please the witches precisely for that reason. The fairies defied their own standards by doing this, just like they had put their pride down to create something safe and welcoming. It was a perfect case of give-and-take. 

Hongjoong felt slightly ill, the many contrasting things happening giving him a sense of whiplash. He had half a mind to not join in but when Yunho and Wooyoung both gave him pointed looks he knew he had no choice. He could still see his inner conflict reflected in their eyes as well, making him feel less alone with the struggle of going against his principles. 

It didn't take long and soon the water rose from the trees and ground, gathering above their heads and flowing in a circular motion. The witches kept close watch and once the amount of water was deemed adequate their gazes followed the jets of water taking off to fill and reanimate the fountains. Splashing sounds rang through the silent night and with one last touch of magic, the water kept following its assigned way within the fountains’ mechanisms. It was done. 

Hongjoong relaxed his shoulders and took a gulp of air, not even having noticed that he'd tensed up completely and stopped breathing momentarily. He'd taken care to extract as least water as possible and he refused to feel bad about it. He wasn't the only one turning around, taking in the view of drained and dying greenery behind the group. _Was this really necessary?_

Going after the witches’ headmaster’s reaction it was as he was beaming and even began applauding, his students following suit albeit with an undeniable aura of slight reluctance. The fire orbs were revolving around the revived fountains, creating a beautiful play of sparkling light illusions. 

Normally the groups’ roles would've been reversed. But nothing was normal about this whole situation. 

If it would take something like this on a regular basis to keep the peace, Hongjoong definitely wasn't sure he wanted it. Witnessing the witches creating spells of light magic wasn't worth doing the same in the opposite direction in the slightest. 

“What a refreshing way to commemorate the starting point of this joint collaboration. May it prove fruitful for both our groups”, the headmaster praised and immediately got a response by the headmistress. “Shall we go inside and take care of the formalities?”

“Of course.”

Their words got the witches and fairies moving at the same time. All of them felt the exhaustion of the long travel in their bones, the need for sleep becoming stronger by the second. Especially the fairies felt tired and after the draining spell they had just performed it took even more effort to lift their luggage from the floor. 

Wooyoung groaned, focusing on making his huge bag float again. “It’s seriously too late for this. My energies are all used up.”

This earned him various hums of acknowledgement from the other students. 

“What do you think will happen now? Will we have dinner? Where are we even gonna stay?” Yunho was probably in the best state of them all, his happy spirits visibly dampened by the dark magic, yet he still kept up his optimism. 

Hongjoong shrugged, dragging his suitcase behind him since he did _not_ feel in the mood to carry out any kind of spell anymore this evening. His mind was still trying to recover. If only it hadn't been for the _dark_ aspect being vital in this demonstration, they could've pulled the water from the ocean with a classic light exchange spell. It made him sad. 

“Guess we’ll find out everything once we’re inside.”

Truthfully he didn't know whether to be scared of what was about to come or look forward to it. Either way, it was going to be a certainly unique experience - for better or worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first few chapters are more of a set-up before everything starts picking up. For anyone wondering about Jongho: he's going to play a vital role at a later point in the story.


	3. II

“Did you see that? They used dark magic - did you _see_ it?”

Seonghwa was definitely too tired to deal with Mingi gushing about the fairies. Had their little show been unexpected? Yes. Had it been impressive? Maybe a bit. 

Though he probably shouldn't be talking as the small fireballs contained in light weren't anything major either. He still couldn't believe how their teachers had made them perform a weak and soft spell so uncharacteristic of their witch nature. His dignity was turning to shambles alarmingly fast.

“We were all there, yes”, Yeosang mumbled, clearly sharing Seonghwa’s mood. 

They had just entered the castle along with their fellow students, the fairies not far behind. The professors on both sides were quickly busying themselves with lighting up the chandeliers and other luminous sources on the castle walls and ceiling. Soon the front hall was bathed in a warm glow and it became clear that the sea castle was just as beautiful on the inside as outside. 

What followed was a short guided tour through the common main areas of the ancient academy, making the hallways come alive again with every step, Seonghwa wondering if their teachers had been here before due to knowing the building’s layout so well. Once they arrived in the great dining hall, witches and fairies separated, going to sit at one of the two large long tables awaiting them respectively. The tables were curved, fitting the circular form of the hall with its shiny windows reaching all the way from floor to ceiling. 

When everyone had settled the teachers started talking again. Seonghwa wasn't really listening to yet another variation of a welcoming speech, zoning out and wishing for a bed and maybe some food, when suddenly his attention was sparked again by his own headmaster. 

“To provide an ideal basis for this cooperation we have decided to put you in rooms of two - one witch and one fairy each.” 

Unsurprisingly this triggered a row of gasps and nervous chattering. “Are they for real? We’re getting a roommate from the other side?”, San whispered, more to himself than his friends around him. This apparently went a little too far even for him, despite his initial enthusiasm. 

“That’s so cool! We can learn so much from each other.” Mingi was basically vibrating with excitement. 

“Can we?” Yeosang tried to keep a calm facade but Seonghwa could see how unhappy he was with the announcement. 

Remaining silent for now he let his own gaze stray to the fairies on the opposite table only to feel a sting in his chest upon finding a certain someone he would rather have avoided. The shock of red hair was unmistakable and Seonghwa saw flashbacks from their dispute rising up at the back of his mind. 

As if the guy had felt eyes on him, he turned his head away from his seat neighbor - Seonghwa recognized him as well - fixing his piercing stare on the wizard in return. Recognition flickered over his face for a moment, rapidly turning into disdain and something resembling… challenge? Seonghwa held his gaze, refusing to give up and mirroring the expression. 

“Imagine sharing a room with _him_ of all people”, Yeosang remarked, having noticed the latter too. 

“I’d rather not.” Seonghwa really didn't like how the fairy kept looking at him, feeling strangely relieved when his second seat mate finally dragged his attention away. 

He let out a careful breath. This would continue to be interesting. For now it was time to focus on his headmaster again though. 

“I know this may seem like an unwelcome surprise to many but don't let it discourage you. We are convinced that living together in close arrangements for the next months will provide everyone with a better and more insightful understanding of each other, outside of a strictly academical context that is. That is also the reason why there won’t be any classes held during the first five days - use them well to get settled in and feel free to explore the castle and its surroundings. Be open to the exchange with your fellow students and I promise you'll gain wonderful new friendships on the way.”

Seonghwa had never heard the man speak so overtly joyful and the fact that it was for promoting rooming with fairies and creating bonds with them made it seem rather ridiculous. Maybe he was dreaming. 

The fairies’ headmistress rose and continued the speech. “The pairs rooming together have already been decided randomly before the trip.” She put a gleaming white stone on the teachers’ table, making up the connection between the students’ ones at the far end of the dining hall. “Please just come out and line up in front of this magical teleportation artefact once you’re finished with the meal that will be served shortly. As soon as you touch it, it’s going to take you to your assigned room. So hold onto your luggage well and upon arriving make sure to either wait for your companion patiently or join them in a nice manner. Your first bonding task and experience will be cleaning it up and organizing it in a way that turns out comfortable for you both.”

With every sentence she added Seonghwa had to keep himself from groaning out loud more. He most certainly did _not_ have left the energy needed for an interaction like that. At least there would be no classes waiting for him in the morning since he was sure he’d have to stay up quite late after all, discussing any possible room arrangements with his future fairy roommate. Yes, there was no doubt they wouldn’t get along and struggle to find a middle ground, at least in Seonghwa’s mind. 

Apparently the teachers had finally decided to end their input for this evening, as they all kept quiet from that point on and it didn’t take long for dinner to appear on the tables. Meals were served in this way in their own academy as well so Seonghwa wasn’t surprised at all, even though he did wonder how it was possible to have it prepared this quickly. He’d have to go scouting for the kitchens during the next few days.

“Finally something good”, Yeosang muttered next to him. 

“What do you mean, _finally_? This trip is getting better by the second”, Mingi countered cheerfully, happily rubbing his hands before starting to eat. 

“Might as well make the best out of it”, San sighed, appearing to have accepted his fate - which they’d all share sooner than later. 

~*~

Hongjoong willed his hands to stop shaking when he reached the front of the queue of students. He’d finished his dinner as quickly as possible and got into line as the fifth person. No way in the underworld he’d risk being surprised by a random witch already waiting for him in their… joint room.

Wooyoung and Yunho seemed way less put off by the idea than he would’ve thought, staying behind carelessly and taking their time. Even if Hongjoong was strongly hoping for his friends to get decent assigned roommates - as decent as _witches_ could be - he didn’t feel the same optimism for his own situation. 

_If I end up with that rude bastard…_ Hongjoong blinked, banning the irritatingly smug face of a certain black-haired wizard from his mind. He’d prefer staying with one of the three unfamiliar witches who went before him in the line. He suppressed a shudder and tried putting on a more relaxed expression upon facing his headmistress giving him an encouraging smile. “Hongjoong, I have high hopes for you”, she said, her usual friendly demeanor coupled with her glowing aura almost making Hongjoong miss the meaning of her words. 

“M-Me? Why?”, he stuttered out but the headmistress’ smile merely took a more mysterious note. “You will know soon enough. Now, I’m wishing you a nice rest of the evening.” 

With that she swiftly took his already waiting right hand in hers, guiding it to the shiny stone and without any more delay Hongjoong felt the world around him collapse and warp. Luckily it didn’t last long though as the traveling distance was very short. Hongjoong felt grateful, usually despising going somewhere through the way of teleportation because it always left him disoriented and queasy. 

Taking in a small gasp he soon realized that he stood in darkness. No lights were turned on yet but he immediately helped himself by creating a contained fireball in his hand - exactly the same spell the witches had carried out earlier in the courtyard.

His surroundings became visible and Hongjoong also spotted a significant number of lamps and candles, letting several beams of light carry over to them out of his hand. Once he was satisfied with the room’s brightness, he let the fireball disappear. To his delight he could fully confirm now that he was alone.

 _Not for long, unfortunately,_ he thought miserably before sneezing loudly. 

The teachers hadn’t been joking about their rooms having to be cleaned. Dust was floating everywhere and building layers on the mostly wooden furniture composed of desks, beds - two on each side of the room - and all the other shelves. The smell wasn’t very appealing either.

Hongjoong went to one of the great windows, panes of shiny glass encompassed by the aquamarine stone walls, figuring out how to open it without difficulty after pulling away the heavy curtains and letting in the cool night air. 

Sticking out his head it came to his attention that his room was located rather far above the ground, it had to be at least on the third or fourth floor. Hongjoong wasn’t as bothered by this observation as expected. Normally a fairy would feel safer and well-connected to their magic close to earth but staying higher up still didn’t cause anything worse than a feeling of slight discomfort, granted they also found themselves far above ground frequently while flying. Noticing the complete absence of the latter emotion though, Hongjoong was a little confused. Was this castle enchanted somehow?

 _But_ how _?_

Hongjoong didn’t have much time left for his musings, letting his thoughts wander while pulling his suitcase to the left side of the room - having chosen it as the one he liked better even if the opposite one basically mirrored it - when a sudden sound reached his ears, followed by a rather graceless _thump_. 

He whirled around to find a guy sitting on the tiled floor, holding a hand to his forehead. He was wearing black thick-rimmed glasses and had a tousled mop of ash-blonde hair. After letting out a quiet groan he finally put down his hand again, his eyes landing on the fairy before him.

Hongjoong tensed, schooling his facial features into what he hoped was a neutral expression. What he absolutely didn’t expect was for the wizard to rise up with a joyous jump and immediately invade his personal space with a beaming smile. 

“Hello, nice to meet you! I’m Song Mingi, a wizard of the advanced year in the Academy of the West.” He grabbed Hongjoong’s right hand and shook it enthusiastically. He was definitely taller than Hongjoong, very close to Yunho’s height actually, so he was forced to raise his head a bit, trying not to show how overwhelmed he felt by the overly kind greeting.

“H-Hi…” His voice failed him, which was why he subtly cleared his throat before continuing. “Nice to meet you too. My name is Kim Hongjoong, fairy of the Eastern Academy, advanced year.”

The wizard - Mingi - looked at him with sparkling eyes, the smile still fixed on his face. “I hope we’ll get along well and spend four great months together.”

“Sure”, Hongjoong nodded and was relieved when Mingi let go of his hand, turning back around to pick up his bag and take in their room.

“Thanks for lighting this place up already. It looks pretty nice”, he stated after a while, chancing a look out of the open window too but recoiling quickly. “Oh, this is _high_.” When his gaze fell on Hongjoong’s suitcase near the left bed he threw his own bag on the one on the right side without question.

_Is he really a wizard?_

Hongjoong had never encountered someone this casual and friendly among the witches’ lines. While a part of him was highly appreciative of his seemingly nice new companion, a much bigger part was staying suspicious and on guard, fearing for Mingi to drop his pleasant mask at any second.

But it didn’t happen.

Instead the wizard quickly began chattering away, to himself and Hongjoong alike, the latter answering him whenever needed and in a surprisingly welcome agreement of using their learnt spells effectively, they had their room cleaned and perfectly arranged within half an hour. They also took a look at the small bathroom - resembling an alcove more than an actual _room_ \- adjoined to the main chamber. Half of the tiny space was occupied by a broad bathtub, the sink and toilet shrinking strongly in comparison. Typically mermaids. The only piece sticking out on the same level was the long mirror, spanning almost the whole area of the wall it was attached to. Its edges were covered with pretty ornations but the foggy glass was also in dire need of cleaning - so they got it done.

Hongjoong was truly thrown through a loop. Mingi was _nice_. _A nice wizard._ His disarming attitude left Hongjoong immensely unsure on how to act around him. He even strongly complimented the spell to make the fountains work again and how it left him speechless. Hongjoong couldn’t be upset with him about having enjoyed the performance as he was used to even darker magic on a daily basis. Still, overall interacting with Mingi gave him an illusion of talking with a fellow fairy rather than a witch. 

“... so done with that, you know? Like, why can’t we all just get along and make magic? United?”, Mingi was currently complaining, going on about almost all his friends being against the collaboration and how he couldn’t relate to their discontent at all.

 _Guess I was lucky enough to share a room with the_ one _witch defying any negative stereotypes I have encountered so far_ , Hongjoong thought, vaguely amazed and with a voice at the back of his mind that sounded like Yunho telling him _see, they’re not all that bad_.

“Well, among my friends it’s actually me who wasn’t looking forward at all to this whole… _arrangement_ ”, he admitted out loud, earning him a confused blink from Mingi followed by a grin. “Then I better do my best to convince you that it’s worth it.”

The wizard was doing a great job of it already.

~*~

Yeosang was trying hard to stay awake, having been waiting in his room for a comparably long time. Whoever the fairy he’d have to label as his roommate from now on would be, they were taking ridiculously long to finish dinner. And Yeosang was _tired_. 

Not only did this random announcement of being stuck in close quarters with the fairies come as unpleasant news, now he even had to keep waiting for his companion to finally make an appearance and join him. Seeing as he’d much prefer going to sleep right away instead of holding conversation with the fairy, he’d taken it upon himself to clean up his chosen side of the room with an intense sweeping spell using up the rest of his energies for the day. He could only hope the other person would take care of their side just as quickly and that they wouldn’t annoy him even more.

He was leaning on the windowsill looking out into the courtyard, the reanimated fountains fizzing right in the line of his sight since the room was on ground level. The sound of the bubbling water helped him calm down and he had just closed his eyes drifting off when his supposed roommate finally arrived.

Yeosang was tempted to simply stay with his back turned toward the person but his curiosity proved to be stronger in the end. What he saw was a fairy with lavender hair and grey eyes, turning his head in every direction taking in the room before his gaze landed on the wizard. For a moment neither of them spoke or moved. They were both sizing the other up, critically one might say. 

Eventually the fairy broke the awkward silence first. “Hey, I’m Wooyoung. Guess you’ll be my witch roommate, huh?” It was meant to lighten the mood, as he even put on a small forced smile. But Yeosang wasn’t having it.

“You mean _wizard_ roommate”, he said icily, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Wooyoung was visibly thrown off at that, stopping in the middle of grabbing his suitcase. “Why are you so late? I’ve been waiting for ages”, Yeosang carried on, unperturbed. 

Wooyoung took a deep breath without responding. “Sorry, I kept talking with my friend and forgot the time.”

Now it was Yeosang who was caught off-guard. He hadn’t expected the fairy to actually apologize. He could probably at least reward him with his name for that. “I see. My name is Yeosang by the way.”

Wooyoung carefully regarded him once more. Then he narrowed his eyes a bit, opening his mouth in surprise. “Wait, I’ve seen you before.”

“Yes, in the dining hall most likely”, Yeosang deadpanned, earning him a huff from his new roommate. “Very funny. No, before that. At the last magical congress - you’re the friend of that jerk who almost started a duel with Hongjoong.”

Suddenly Yeosang knew exactly what Wooyoung was referring to and his mind conjured a clear image of him being the one who had held back the red-haired fairy, just like he himself had done with Seonghwa. He should've noticed him earlier but his focus had stayed on only one person, not the ones sitting next to him. _No way._

“I can’t believe this”, he sighed deeply, turning back to the window and fighting the upcoming headache he could feel rising in his temples.

“So you _do_ remember it too”, Wooyoung chuckled, sinking down on the still unoccupied bed thoughtlessly, causing an unpleasant cloud of dust to rise from it. “This _seriously_ needs to be cleaned.” His statement was followed by a cough as well as, “How come you only took care of your own side? Not to mention that you didn’t even wait for me to decide on who gets which one.”

Yeosang refused to look at him. “Why should I clean your side? Moreover, I came here way earlier than you, waiting was never an option.” He could feel Wooyoung’s stare boring into his back. 

“Alright, you know what? If you wanna be like that, fine by me.” Yeosang heard quick steps coming closer and Wooyoung grabbed his shoulder without hesitation, forcing their eyes to meet. Yeosang noticed that they were roughly the same height. “You do your thing, I do mine. No difficulties, no fights. Just leave me alone.”

Yeosang raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know fairies were able to master the complex skill of mind-reading. My sentiments exactly.” 

He saw an indignant blush rise on Wooyoung's cheeks but the fairy merely gave him a half-hearted push, clearly just as tired of this day and lacking the vigor for a stronger response before returning to his side of the room. “Glad to have that settled”, he grumbled, moving his hands in preparation of a quick cleaning spell.

Yeosang definitely felt the same. At least that’s what he told himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and over 300 hits! I hope everyone reading this story will continue enjoying it.


	4. III

Hongjoong felt revitalized the next morning. He had slept well and zero issues had arisen with his new roommate. Mingi was a sweetheart, his nature contrasting so extremely with everything a witch was supposed to be that Hongjoong still couldn’t fully trust that it was real. But _spirits_ , he didn’t want to be proven wrong in his assumptions of Mingi being a good person. 

Since they hadn’t been given a fixed time for breakfast last evening, everyone was allowed to come in at whatever time they wanted - like a true vacation, even if it appeared to be more like the calm before the storm. Hongjoong was lucky to conveniently reconvene with Yunho and Wooyoung who were already sitting at the same spots as yesterday when he came in, some other students scattered throughout the hall as well. 

“... and he’s all friendly, I was shocked in the best way”, Yunho was saying just as Hongjoong sat down opposite of him, next to Wooyoung. “Who’s all friendly? Don’t tell me you’ve got an unexpectedly nice witch roommate too?”

Yunho giggled. “Good morning sunshine, did you sleep well? And what’s this about a nice roommate? You have me intrigued.”

“Yeah, he’s great and I’m not sure yet whether I should appreciate or hate it.” He actually wasn’t. All his previous experiences were telling him to be careful and how none of this could be true but Mingi turned out to be a compelling force.

Wooyoung groaned. “Am I really the only one who ended up with a stubborn prick? At least I was ready to make an effort but he immediately shot me down. Why couldn’t _you_ have gotten him instead?”

“To be honest I’m just relieved I’m not forced into rooming with the magical congress guy”, Hongjoong admitted. 

Another groan from Wooyoung who proceeded to lay down face first on the table. “Wait, is it _him_?”, Yunho asked with wide eyes.

“No, worse”, came his muffled reply. “It’s his friend, the one with the white-blonde hair.”

Hongjoong went through his memories but he was only able to summon a vague image of the guy, seeing as his attention back then had been focused on someone else entirely. “And he’s being mean? Do I have to fight him too?”

“Hongjoong! You shouldn’t fight him and you also _can’t_ ”, Yunho threw in. “Maybe you two just got off on the wrong foot? I wouldn’t give up so soon, you can surely work through your differences”, he added, addressing Wooyoung who slowly lifted his head again. “Tell that to the ice block claiming to be a wizard. We didn’t exchange a single word after our initial introduction yesterday. He barely even told me his name.”

 _Now,_ that _sounds like an actual witch,_ Hongjoong thought grimly, certainly not happy to hear that one of his friends had to deal with someone like that now. At least Yunho ended up with a decent person according to his own words. 

“Don’t worry about that idiot. He won’t be able to tear you down.” He knew his attempt at cheering up Wooyoung was weak but it was the truth. Yunho nodded. “How about we focus on exploring the castle and its surroundings instead? We gotta make use of the days off the teachers have granted us”, he suggested, happy as ever. 

The light returned to Wooyoung’s eyes at the proposition. “Let’s do that.”

~*~

Saying that Seonghwa was pleased was an understatement. He was _overjoyed_. 

The reason for his great mood was fairly simple - he had gotten a single room. After being teleported there last night he had received an additional message from the headmaster telling him that his parents had specifically requested for him to not room together with anyone else, least of all a fairy. Initially wanting to refuse the request, the teachers had eventually caved, considering the undeniable influence of Seonghwa’s family in the magical world. He had never been so thankful to have been born into such a family of powerful witches and wizards before.

“Must be nice being part of the upper-class”, Yeosang had declared as a form of reaction when they had met this morning, expression sour. He had evidently ended up with a fairy he disliked at first sight - or rather, second sight. Meanwhile San and Mingi were happily talking about their respective roommates, both having gotten an amazing first impression of their new fairy companions. 

With that topic out of the way for now though, the quartet had decided to roam the castle grounds and take a look at the adjacent beach. The other students for the most part had obviously decided to do the same so the whole sea castle and its courtyard were alive with merry chattering and laughter. Seonghwa even spotted some of his colleagues - more than he'd expected but still not enough to be worrying - standing together with fairies, assumedly fresh roommates getting to know each other more. Mingi and San had almost suggested asking theirs to join them as well but one death glare by Yeosang had prevented that effectively. 

Seonghwa let his hair be ruffled by the sea breeze, breathing in deeply while stretching his arms over his head. The air was fresh and the temperatures were warm but not hot. It was a truly wonderful summer day and with the good news from last evening he was even able to temporarily forget all other worries connected to the collaboration. 

Yeosang was sitting next to him, letting his hand swipe through the sand slowly. He wore a contemplative expression with his eyes fixed on the ocean’s horizon far away. Seonghwa knew that he’d much rather begin exploring _inside_ than here but they’d have more time for that later and during the next days anyway.

San and Mingi were goofing around right by the shore, an occasional yelp to be heard when one of them got their feet flooded by a wave breaking close. The majority of the other students were doing the same, having fun by the water and making the most of the beautiful sunny weather. 

“I’m surprised that so many of our classmates easily changed their minds about hanging out with the fairies”, Yeosang spoke, a small frown appearing on his features. “Just yesterday they were all as annoyed as ever and now they’re playing friends with them like it’s totally normal.”

“Maybe it is”, Seonghwa hummed, sitting down too. When Yeosang looked at him as if he had grown a second head he burst into laughter. “I’m joking. It was a _joke_ ”, he reassured his friend. 

“It better be.” At that moment San let out a particularly loud squeal, caused by Mingi splashing a considerable amount of water on him. “Those fools. We have important things to worry about.”

“Like what?”, Seonghwa inquired, straightening out his legs and leaning back on his hands.

“Like how classes will be held, for example. I can’t imagine how they want to create curricula that are fitting for witches and fairies alike.” Yeosang had a point. 

“Good question. I’m curious about that too but I guess we can only wait for now.”

“I think I could’ve done without all the waiting. I’m not in the mood for settling in and playing nice with the nature freaks”, Yeosang sighed and after spotting a trio of the latter moving towards Mingi and San he added, “Look who it is.”

Seonghwa followed his gaze and his own immediately zeroed in on the familiar redhead. A familiar, _very_ irritating redhead who was now being eagerly greeted by Mingi. _Wait,_ that’s _the amazing roommate?_ Seonghwa couldn’t believe his eyes. Of course someone like Mingi would be too kind to label the irksome fairy as anything else. 

The second in their group was the purple-haired guy Yeosang had to share his room with now and third was a rather tall one, at least the same height as Mingi, exchanging friendly smiles with San. 

What were the odds that two of Seonghwa’s friends ended up with two of _him_? He still didn’t even know the fairy’s name and quite frankly he didn’t even want to. 

“They can’t be serious right now”, Yeosang muttered, tensing slightly. 

But they were - making their way towards them, that is. _Fantastic._

Seonghwa saw the exact moment the faces of the fairies fell, at least two of them. They both slowed down and Seonghwa wanted to curse Mingi and San right then and there for pushing them along obliviously. Knowing them they’d probably want Yeosang and his roommate to try and reconcile after their rough start. It would not work.

Said wizard was still next to him but swiftly jumped to his feet. “I’m gonna look for the castle’s library and stay there for as long as I’m allowed to. Later.” With that he took off, not a second too late as the small group reached Seonghwa shortly after. He got up as well, dusting off his trousers and telling himself to be polite - if not out of his own volition, then at least for his friends. The chances of that ambition working out were remarkably slim though.

The first thing Seonghwa was met with was Mingi’s confusion. “Where did Yeosang go?”

“To the library. Had enough sunshine for today”, Seonghwa shrugged. It wasn’t a lie per se. With a pointed look at the trio of fairies he continued, “And who might you all be?” 

_As if I wouldn’t know._

“Oh, that’s Yunho and Hongjoong, Mingi’s and my roommates”, San introduced them cheerfully. “And Wooyoung here is apparently stuck with Yeosang”, Mingi added more subdued, finally having picked up on why their friend had left so suddenly, remembering his complaints from earlier. Seonghwa heard Wooyoung mumble something like _unfortunately_ under his breath, followed by him turning around and moving away from the group, kicking up the sand under his feet.

Seonghwa kept his expression neutral, shifting his attention back from Wooyoung to the rest, and was about to politely greet the other fairies, telling them his own name - as reluctant as he was - but upon opening his mouth he was already interrupted. By none other than the red-haired guy. At last Seonghwa had learned his name after all. _Hongjoong._

“We’ve already met”, he stated, no traces left of the amicable glint his eyes had shown while interacting with Mingi. Instead he wore the same expression as on the previous evening in the dining hall. Seonghwa could feel his irritation rising. Unsurprisingly it hadn’t taken much.

“So you remember”, he replied matter-of-factly, mirroring Hongjoong’s attitude. 

“How could I not? I mean, who would forget an insufferable idiot like you?”, came the infuriatingly nonchalant comeback and Seonghwa knew he was purposefully being riled up. One glance at his obviously worried friends - especially Mingi regarding him with a pointed look - and the other fairies told him that they had been hoping for this to _not_ happen. He had to agree with them. This wasn’t the right moment. He wouldn’t rise to the bait but he still couldn’t let himself be insulted like this either. 

At least Hongjoong caught a subtle elbow to the side by his own friend, Yunho. Although it didn’t appear as if that mattered to him as he kept staring challengingly. 

“I see you’re still leading an uncouth life of impertinence”, Seonghwa began, not missing the way Hongjoong's right hand balled into a fist at his cool tone of voice. Seonghwa clenched his jaw, preparing for pressing out the next sentence. “Regardless… I was hoping that we’d be able to leave our… _differences_ in the past. All in the effort of making the next four months as pleasant as possible and creating a peaceful atmosphere.” 

He felt rather proud for keeping his calm like this. It just showed yet again how much more mature he was compared to the bad-mannered fairy. The latter clearly hadn’t expected such a turn of events as surprise flickered over his features and he was apparently rendered speechless. 

San took the chance to intervene happily and right away. “That’s the spirit! If we all think like that we’ll create unforgettable memories, I’m convinced.” Mingi and Yunho were quick to agree with him and just like that the tense situation got resolved without further trouble.

Seonghwa stayed as a listener in their mismatched gathering, glad that no one talked to him directly again. After a while he caught Hongjoong’s gaze once more and the way suspicion was clouding his blue-green eyes told Seonghwa more than actual words.

 _You don’t even remotely believe that this thing will work out,_ he seemed to be saying. Seonghwa couldn’t help the ghost of a smile at the fairy’s expression.

_No, I don’t. And neither do you._

~*~

Wooyoung, Yunho and Hongjoong were all gathered in the first one’s room. Considering his wizard companion would be out for quite a while, Wooyoung had declared that they should make use of the space and privacy, adding that he’d feel lonely all by himself anyway. His mood had gotten better throughout the day, only really lifting up after they’d separated from the other wizards. 

The fairies had taken it upon themselves to try and repair a bit of the damage done to the part of the forest which had been drained from all its water last night. It was a gruesome sight, a long patch of wilted and drained botany stretching out like a stain of darkness between the flourishing and healthy green of its neighboring flora. Considering the woods here by the sea’s coast also weren’t as dense as the central ones, the spell had reached quite far into the meager thicket, leaving a trail of death behind. 

Other fairies had joined them soon, having had the same idea and wanting to help just as much. It had earned them scorning looks from many of the witches passing by, leading into hushed and judgemental whispers of how _the straws are back at it again_. _Straws_ was a term well-known throughout the magical world, almost exclusively used by pretentious witches to describe fairies. It compared their sweet and soft composure while connecting with nature to weak and supposedly useless dried up plant stalks - just because they were considerate in handling their environment and returning its energies wherever they could. 

_Wrong._ They _are the weaklings_ , Hongjoong had thought, not caring at all about what those people labeled him as. _They don’t even realize that real strength lies in recognizing and accepting your mistakes, trying to mend what was done in the aftermath to stay true to yourself._ Additionally it plainly demonstrated how both groups of magic-users still had a very long way to go in their supposedly shared goal of getting along and respecting each other. 

It gave Hongjoong a bitter kind of satisfaction, confirming that he definitely wasn’t wrong for distrusting the witches, no matter how nice Mingi - and also San - might seem now. The other two wizards in their group were helping in that aspect as well. Not even speaking of the one who had immediately left and hadn’t talked to them at all, Hongjoong had been more than ready to engage in another fight with Seonghwa - Mingi had told him his name - only to be brushed off with a lukewarm response more lie than anything else. 

_What a jerk._

At least Hongjoong had been able to focus his thoughts on the mending of the greenery, a welcome distraction. After the fairy students were able to heal a considerable amount of the formerly withered forest they had decided to call it a day, not even having realized that the sun had already started going down. 

Yunho and Hongjoong were relieved to see how Wooyoung had regained his usual bubbly demeanour through having done something good and rewarding. After an uneventful dinner they’d decided to stay together for a bit longer before going to sleep.

Wooyoung was perched on his bed with Hongjoong next to him. Yunho was sitting cross-legged on the floor. “I like it here”, he hummed, looking back on the pleasant day. Well, mostly.

“I’d like it even better if we were here alone”, Wooyoung remarked. 

“I’m with you. Can’t wait until classes start and I’ll hopefully be able to turn a certain wizard’s hair into a shrub - see who’s the straw then”, Hongjoong chimed in, rubbing his hands gleefully and earning him a giggle from Wooyoung.

Yunho rolled his eyes. “You two are impossible. I thought today went pretty well, why are you being so negative?”

“That’s because _you_ have a nice roommate. Hongjoong does too but the issues he has with Seonghwa run deep. And don’t even get me started on the seemingly sentient stick in the mud that calls himself Yeosang”, Wooyoung explained, huffing the last part in frustration.

“Speaking of him, why is he still not here? The library can’t be open that long.” Hongjoong was genuinely curious, even if he didn’t necessarily want to meet the stuck-up guy anytime soon. 

“Probably hanging out with his friends, just like us. They’re not so different, you know”, Yunho tried again, determined to make his friends see the good in the wizards. “You can’t blame them for acting like this. It’s all they’ve ever known, the prejudice deeply ingrained in their minds.”  
“That doesn’t excuse them treating us like they do though”, Wooyoung threw in. “Yeosang had no reason to act like he did just because I was a little _late_. And neither did Seonghwa have to poke his head into business that had nothing to do with him back then, making Hongjoong mad at him.”

“Of course not. But that’s why we all gotta work together to make them realize what they’re doing wrong. They won’t be able to acknowledge it themselves, too far gone in their own convictions.” 

Hongjoong hated how what Yunho was saying made sense, very much so. Wasn’t Mingi doing basically the same for him after all? The cordial wizard was steadily leading Hongjoong on a path of looking past his biases, as wrong or right as they may turn out to be in the end. But that still didn’t indicate or justify that Hongjoong should try and do the same for some stubborn witches. 

_Or maybe it kinda does. No, no, it does_ not _._

“You have a point”, Wooyoung admitted. “Even if I wanted to do that though - which I _don’t_ \- I’d need him to meet me halfway with the same intention. None of it is going to work as a one-way-street.”

“Try talking to him again. Casually, that is. Assuming he has a working head, he could potentially come to some conclusions when he sees that his coldness or ignorance or whatever isn’t affecting you the way he expects it to.” Hongjoong was surprised at his own words. His friends felt the same, going by their perplexed faces. Yunho’s quickly morphed into an expression of delight. “Yes, that’s a nice strategy. It sounds promising.”

Wooyoung bit his lip. “Do you really think so? Will it even be worth it?” Hongjoong sighed. “That can only be determined in the long run. You’ll have to pull through and go along with wherever it eventually takes you.”

Wooyoung seemed to accept that this was all he’d get at this point. “Alright. I’ll try my best.” Yunho nodded enthusiastically. “I’m sure it’s gonna be fine.”

Hongjoong hoped that his friend would be right. Not only for Wooyoung’s sake but also his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, the infamous argument will be elaborated on eventually. Thanks again to everyone reading!   
> Until next Monday!


	5. IV

The next four days off went by exceptionally fast. Students from both sides got to know the layout of the sea castle as well as possible and the summer sun provided perfect conditions for spending time outside on the beach and in the courtyard with its beautiful fountains alike. 

Yeosang didn’t care for any of it. He’d holed himself up in the castle’s library as he had wanted to from the beginning. As expected, it was ancient but huge, providing a vast collection of literary works by countless famous magicians of all kinds. Yeosang felt at home.

Even though the library in his own academy was even more grande it was limited in several ways, one of them being how eighty percent of the works were originating from a witch’s or wizard’s pen. And of course it was important to study the writings of the generations preceding him but it also got boring quite fast.

Which is why it came as the best surprise to him that the former scholars of the sea castle had gathered so much knowledge from different areas. Yeosang could stay here for ages and still not have his many curiosities completely satisfied. He made good use of his free time, only leaving for meals and eventually sleeping when night came, the lights fading out slowly.

On the third day Seonghwa came by, checking out the library himself and excitedly reporting his findings about the other locations in the castle - like the kitchen which was apparently abandoned and empty, yet they always got their food on time, appearing out of nowhere it seemed. It was certainly suspicious and mildly unsettling, but Yeosang wasn’t nearly as invested in the issue as his best friend.

Said best friend, who had a single room and thus never failed to ask him about his own experiences with Wooyoung because as nice as staying alone was, it wasn’t very entertaining. Yeosang wished he could stay quiet at Seonghwa’s questions, but considering how the fairy was starting to get on his nerves more and more he had no choice but to use their talks as an outlet. Especially since Seonghwa was the only one who actually understood him - San and Mingi were already hopelessly lost as them hanging out with the three infamous fairies everyday suggested.

Meanwhile Yeosang had expected Wooyoung to hold onto their agreement of leaving each other alone. What he most definitely had _not_ anticipated was his roommate waiting for him every evening, wide awake and probably in the mood for interaction. The word _bonding_ might be more accurate but Yeosang refused to think about it that way, shuddering at the mere idea.

Still, Wooyoung was acting as if they hadn’t decided to not even try getting along back on that first night. And it wasn't adding up for Yeosang. At all.

He didn’t know what the fairy was playing at but it couldn’t be good. No matter his intentions in suddenly wanting to mend their - truly non-existent - relationship, Yeosang wouldn’t be as stupid to trust him with it. Fairies were known to be mischievous and manipulative often, using their innocent antics for tricking people. Wooyoung was surely no exception and if he thought Yeosang would be as easy to play along he was _wrong_.

 _He probably wants to somehow make me like him and then he’s going to stab me in the back_ , he thought almost bitterly, on the way to his room after he spent the last free day in the library yet again. Tomorrow classes would finally begin and the teachers had announced that the students would receive all necessary information at breakfast - set on a fixed, early point for the first time. 

Yeosang was strongly looking forward to returning to his studies, even though he remained wary of what their professors had planned to merge their classes with those of the fairies and actually make it work. Overall he was just hoping that whatever curriculum he’d end up with wouldn’t turn out to be a waste of time. As a wizard of the advanced class he couldn’t afford something like that. 

Having arrived in front of his door, he opened it as quietly as possible in the hopes that Wooyoung would be asleep tonight unlike on the previous days. Naturally, he had no such luck. The fairy was sitting at his desk, an arrangement of tiny colorful stones in front of him. At Yeosang’s entrance he turned his head, putting on a subtle smile. Yeosang usually would describe himself as someone who could read people well, but for some reason he didn’t have a clue when it came to Wooyoung. Whether his smile was genuine or fake.

“Hey, you’re back. How was your last day off?”, Wooyoung inquired, voice steady and friendly.

Yeosang was tempted to fully ignore the question but as he _did_ pride himself in having good manners no matter the circumstances, that wasn’t an adequate option. “Fine.” He opted for the simple, unproblematic choice. There was no way he’d ask the fairy back or start any conversation of his own, but at least he’d answered properly if curtly. 

Wooyoung didn’t let himself be deterred, his gaze following Yeosang going over to his bed. “That’s nice. We finally finished healing the forest today.”

 _I don’t care_ , laid on the tip of Yeosang’s tongue but he caught himself at the last moment, meeting the statement with silence. It still didn’t work.

“Are you prepared for classes starting tomorrow?”

Yeosang sighed. _Why can’t he just leave me alone?_

“I’m _always_ prepared. It’s the expected standard for witches.” And then, with the intention of finally putting off his annoying roommate he added, “Nothing a flighty fairy like you would understand.”

Wooyoung, who had returned to sorting the tiny stones on his desk, fully turned around at those words, an unreadable expression on his face. “What makes you say that I’m flighty?”

Yeosang was caught slightly off-guard but he didn’t let it show. “Because that’s how it is, isn’t it?” He realized his mistake of adding the questioning aspect at the end too late.

“No, it isn’t. You know what it actually is? Dumb stereotypes that have been hammered into your brain by society.” Wooyoung gathered the stones, swiftly putting them away in a small pouch and then got up, putting his hands on his hips. “Maybe we should talk a bit more about those. Diminish them and all.”

Yeosang frowned, refusing to see the logic in what the fairy had just said. “What would be the purpose of doing that? You can’t prove the truth wrong.” 

At that, Wooyoung’s carefully crafted mask of indifference began cracking. “So you’re saying that me assuming that you and your fellow witches are all narrow-minded, dusty squanderers of magic who only care about themselves is a universal truth?” It was obvious that he’d put quite a lot of his pent-up anger into that sentence, letting out some frustration from the past days.

“It is _not_ ”, Yeosang retorted, his irritation increasingly spiking. “The mere fact that you’d think your words to be true is enough to stop me from engaging in any kind of productive communication with you, knowing it would be useless. I’m better off ignoring you.”

“Is that your approach for anything that goes against your self-centered mindset? Someone doesn’t agree with you and that means they’re not worth your time?”, Wooyoung kept going, his tone having turned into a no-nonsense one.

Yeosang regarded the fairy for a few seconds. “I’m not obligated to answer you. Actually, I’m not obligated to speak to you at all. Why don’t you just let it go before we both regret it?”

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, turning away and throwing his hands in the air. “Alright. Why do I even try when you’re clearly nothing more than a stubborn fool?”

Yeosang wasn’t able to hold himself back one last time. “What did you just call me?” Wooyoung’s expression changed from exasperated to playful. “Just stating facts.”

Yeosang knew the fairy could read his face like an open book, relishing in messing with him. _I seriously can’t stand him._

But it was enough for today - he had more important things to focus on and he wouldn't give Wooyoung the satisfaction of responding to the provocation. Instead, Yeosang was more than a little relieved when he left him alone for the rest of the evening, both eventually going to sleep without another word. 

If he struggled to stick with his opinion upon reconsidering the fairy’s assumptions while staring at the ceiling in the dark, no one had to know. 

~*~

“Ready to go?” 

“Sure.”

San and Yunho left their room together, both excited for classes to finally start today. Over the past days they had hung out together quite a lot, joined by Mingi and Hongjoong and occasionally Wooyoung. It had been fun, and Yunho was pleased to see how his optimism was already paying off, the two nice wizards proving to be a joy to spend time with. It gave him even more joy how even Hongjoong had more or less accepted them by now, despite all his intense prejudice and initial reluctance. 

The only one who was still worrying him was Wooyoung and his apparently very rude roommate who made it basically impossible to establish a well-meaning connection. Yunho could only hope that his friend would be fine in the end and the blatant ignorance of the wizard living with him wouldn’t turn hostile any time soon - or ever. 

But he had faith in Wooyoung that he wouldn’t put up with something like that and retaliate accordingly. Not that a fight breaking out sounded appealing but maybe that was exactly what was needed to finally get them both on common ground. Yunho certainly wouldn’t encourage his friend to follow that strategy though. 

“I wonder what they have planned. Any ideas?”, San made him return to the present. They had almost reached the dining hall.

“I’ll let myself be surprised. I’m sure our professors have made good plans for us, teaching us in mutually beneficial ways”, Yunho replied and San nodded. “That’s definitely gonna be exciting.”

They eventually separated at the entrance to the big hall like every morning before, each joining their own group of students and friends at the respective tables. Yunho took his usual spot next to Wooyoung with Hongjoong opposite them. 

“Morning.” Hongjoong looked still half-asleep and upon Yunho questioning him about it he elaborated, “Had something of a late-night talk with Mingi. I still can’t believe he’s a wizard and not a fairy with how he’s so likeable and super interested in light magic.”

Yunho hummed. “Mingi really is one of a kind.” He willed down the slight blush that threatened to rise on his cheeks after the words left his mouth. He had to admit, Mingi had caught his attention in more ways than one and the more they hung out together he felt his appreciation for him getting stronger. 

“He must be extraordinarily powerful if he made Hongjoong, known witch-hater number one, this soft within the course of a few days. No one saw _that_ twist coming. Meanwhile I had another confrontation with the ice block and it was as unpleasant as always”, Wooyoung lamented but the way he said it was considerably less unhappy than at the beginning of their stay. “At least I finally got some kind of reaction out of him. Good to know that there’s more to him than his stony mask of a pretty face.”

Yunho perked up at that. “Did you just call him pretty?”

Wooyoung seemed to realize what he had said only now and was quick to deny. “I mean, from an objective point of view, I _guess_ he doesn’t look _too_ bad. Not that it matters in combination with his terrible personality.”

“Yeah, obviously. What a pity”, Hongjoong added, undoubtedly thinking about a certain other person who fit that description, followed by Wooyoung’s, “Truly a waste.”

Yunho didn’t buy it, confident that Wooyoung maybe liked his roommate more than expected after all. Or rather than the wizard himself, Wooyoung was probably just highly motivated to crack his shell, similar to how he’d be curious to unravel a fun mystery. 

He couldn’t say the same for Hongjoong and his peculiar relationship with Seonghwa. The sheer animosity and tension oozing off them whenever they accidentally encountered each other within their group meetings was unbroken even if they didn’t act on it. At least they hadn’t so far. Only time could tell how long it would take for them to reach a breaking point.

_Hopefully never._

Breakfast went by uneventfully without further ado, and after a while their headmistress rose and spoke up along with the witches’ headmaster. They explained how their collaboration would proceed further and how classes would be organized. To the collective surprise of the students, the subjects they’d each attend - five in total - had all already been fully chosen by their professors. It was set which ones they’d participate in and it didn’t take long for official papers to appear before them, containing their individual curricula. Written in a neat table were the name of the specific class, the days and times it would be held and where it would take place, as well as if it was a fairy-only or joint one, combined with the teacher's name. 

Yunho was glad to see that all the subjects he’d received were to his liking from the first look. A whole four of them would be attended together with the witches and Yunho supposed their professors had definitely taken into account who would be least opposed to working with them this intensely. Someone like him. 

Hongjoong and Wooyoung each shared three subjects with the witches. The former was unexpectedly rather delighted at the revelation, rubbing his hands together and apparently looking forward to it all. “History, music and potions are shared? Perfect, I won’t let them ruin my two favorite subjects, and I don’t care all that much about history to be honest”, he grinned and Yunho could see the gears turning in his head on how he’d prove his skills to anyone who’d question them. His competitive streak was clearly winning over the base annoyance of having to attend comparably many classes with the witches. 

Wooyoung remained unconvinced, eyeing his curriculum critically. “I have potions and history too. The third one is botany though.”

“We’re sharing that one as well. And you love botany, don’t you?”, Yunho remarked cheerfully.

“I do, which is why I can’t understand why they’re trying to mess it up by making the witches join us. What’s even the point? They don’t respect nature in any way. They won’t learn anything and just bring their bad mood”, Wooyoung grumbled, expression unamused. 

“Just make a vine sprout and let it strangle anyone who’s annoying”, Hongjoong suggested, completely serious.

Yunho gasped. “ _No_ , that’s the opposite of what we should be doing.”

“Sorry, but it’s a great idea. Noted”, Wooyoung shrugged, spirits visibly lifted, peeking over Yunho’s shoulder afterwards. “Wow, _four_ joint classes? You poor soul. At least we can bond over our misery in two of them.” He meant the aforementioned history and botany. The latter was not surprising considering Yunho loved plants of any kind and studying them just as much.

“It’s not bad, I don’t mind”, he said whole-heartedly. He was especially looking forward to the class about magical familiars since he really wanted to know the differences - and similarities - between those of fairies and witches. His final shared subject was neutral magic. Yunho frowned, unable to imagine anything through that name. 

“Neutral? So, neither light nor dark?”, Hongjoong surmised. “That’s probably the one class that actually makes sense for teaching witches and fairies alike.”

“It sounds really cool, actually. It even has teachers from both sides instead of one. Why can’t we do that too instead of mere history?”, Wooyoung complained jokingly but Yunho had a hypothesis.

“They can only give that kind of class to students who have no bias for either kind of magic. If you wanna create a truly neutral environment for practicing magic you can’t favor one over the other”, he explained. Of course he was used to primarily light magic like every other fairy, but he couldn’t deny the importance of darker spells and how he’d like to learn more about them. He believed in the magical balance between the different practices and often found himself hoping for more people realizing this. 

“Alright, you’re a special nerd and above us basic fairies, we get it”, Wooyoung took Yunho out of his thoughts again. “You gotta tell us what you’re studying there then because it must be fancy.”

 _It wouldn’t be so_ fancy _if this way of thinking was more normalized._ But Yunho kept that to himself. 

“Speaking of fancy things, we’re starting today with potions. Straight into business and I’m not complaining.” Hongjoong got back to radiating his satisfied aura only for Wooyoung to give him a meaningful look. “Potions. Remember what happened the last time we learned something about that together with some witches?”

Hongjoong hesitated. “So what? I won’t let that idiot bug me anymore.” It was a lie and they all knew it. The second Seonghwa got on his nerves again it was over. “Who says he’s even taking that class too?”, Hongjoong still tried to keep up his morale but Wooyoung wasn’t having it. “He is taking it too. One-hundred percent.” It was extremely likely indeed, also considering how it was being held by a teacher they didn't know, which could only mean it was a witch or wizard. 

Hongjoong returned his friend’s steady gaze. “Then let him.”

Yunho sighed deeply, rubbing his temples. He could already see how the next weeks would put them into pure chaos and he was only halfway prepared for that specific storm.

Suddenly the headmistress continued talking. She and the witches’ headmaster had given their students appropriate time to discuss their timetables but they hadn’t finished yet. “Additionally to the individual amount of joint classes each one of you has received, we will be introducing another component to make working together even more efficient and harmonious.”

Yunho could see Hongjoong stiffen at her words, afraid of what she’d tell them. It was the head wizard who continued though.

“We already paired you up in witch-fairy duos for sharing a room. Now we will assign you another partner from the other side who shares all your joint classes for one, and who you will also spend extra time with outside of them. Both of you will be tasked with different assignments throughout the next months, eight in total, that you’ll have to work on and complete to ensure that you pass the overall collaboration - for that, at least half of them have to be finished successfully. These special tasks will strengthen your bond and present another possibility of learning to appreciate each other, as your new partner is unlikely to be your roommate. However, should they be, you’re going to learn working with them on a different level which is just as fulfilling.” 

“ _Fulfilling_ is not the word I’d use”, Wooyoung mumbled under his breath. “What if I end up with Yeosang again?”

“Don’t jinx it”, Hongjoong scolded, his own eyes nervously flitting back and forth between the headmaster and the witches’ table. Yunho was the only one reacting positively to this announcement it seemed. He’d love finding another friend, provided they’d be just as enthusiastic. 

“The duos will be brought together after tonight’s dinner, following your first day of classes. Until then, good luck to everyone”, the headmaster ended his speech and the students collectively started breathing again. It was a lot to take in, but at least they’d only have to worry about it in the evening.

“Things just got even more interesting, huh.” It was more of a statement than a question and Hongjoong’s blank face confirmed that he didn’t need a response. He still got it.

“Interesting it might be, but I’m not letting that weigh me down today. Come on, let’s look for that laboratory.” Wooyoung got up unceremoniously, Hongjoong mirroring him and after wishing him a good time for his own first class - the familiar one - Yunho was soon left alone at their spot. But not for long. 

Upon getting up as well and turning around he was faced with none other than Mingi right behind him. The wizard was holding the paper with his curriculum in his hand, beaming at him. “Hey, did you get into the class for magical familiars too? None of my other friends share it, but since we talked about this topic just yesterday I thought you’d maybe be in it.” 

He sounded very hopeful and Yunho was trying to ignore his pulse picking up at realizing that Mingi had just indirectly counted him among his friends. It was also true that they’d brought up the concept of familiars and how they’d both like to have one someday, sitting by one of the big fountains on the past day. 

_Okay Yunho, stay calm._

“Yes, I am. We can go there together now if you want”, he replied, smiling back and relishing in the happy reaction he got in turn. “That’s great! Let’s go then”, Mingi agreed, proceeding to promptly catch Yunho’s left hand in his own, dragging him out of the dining hall. 

Yunho hoped the wizard couldn’t feel how fast his heart was beating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take a wild guess on who the partners are going to be~


	6. V

Seonghwa was looking forward to his potions class. He really was. 

But his mood undeniably dampened when Hongjoong and his purple-haired friend entered the laboratory, perfectly on time and with excitement shining in their eyes. At least they were passionate about the subject - Seonghwa could appreciate that. 

He exchanged a demonstrative look with Yeosang who was sitting next to him, sharing his opinion no doubt. Luckily the two fairies ignored them - except for a quick and attemptedly subtle glance - and took their seats at the other end of the room. If they hadn’t, there might’ve been another situation similar to a year ago at the magical congress. Seonghwa sincerely hoped he wouldn’t be forced to share more classes with Hongjoong than this one. Wooyoung hadn’t done anything to him personally - yet - but Yeosang’s evident dislike for his roommate was enough to not improve Seonghwa’s view of him. 

That’s why he was glad when the lesson began smoothly and he found himself enjoying it to the fullest. The professor holding it was one of their own and Seonghwa wouldn’t have expected anything else. _No one can match a good witch in potions_ , he thought smugly, jotting down notes and occasionally exchanging some musings about the recipes and ingredients with Yeosang. 

He was almost disappointed when the three hours - with breaks in between - were over fast and they hadn’t gotten to try out the laboratory’s intriguing equipment yet, only having learned a variety of theoretical basics for now. Through simple observation, Seonghwa could tell that it was especially the fairies who were thankful for all the repetition, scribbling in their notebooks furiously. Except for Hongjoong.

Contrary to Wooyoung, who was doing much the same as his fellow students, the redhead was simply leaning back in his chair, merely writing something down shortly once in a while. _He must be doing well in this subject then_ , Seonghwa surmised, but he didn’t know how to feel about it. It was almost bitter that it was exactly Hongjoong potentially measuring up to his own wit when it came to potions - one less chance for Seonghwa to label him as _completely_ stupid.

At one point he hadn’t realized he’d been staring and when Hongjoong had caught him, he'd consciously put effort into not looking away immediately. He’d show no weakness to his newfound - apparently - rival. And he knew he shouldn’t expect Hongjoong to step down anytime soon either. He rejected the idea of accepting the thrill of a challenge for what it was, rather trying to dismiss it as an extraordinary kind of irritation.

Fortunately his second class of the day was for witches only, sparing him from further contemplating the fairy. _Witch literature_ was right up his alley as well, highly complex yet fascinating. Obviously Yeosang was sharing this class with him too, the bookworm that he was. What surprised him a little was when they also encountered Mingi, all smiles and sunshine. His first class about magical familiars had gone amazingly according to his tellings and what did _not_ surprise Seonghwa was when his friend started gushing about Yunho, who was taking it together with him. Mingi was absolutely smitten with the tall fairy and Seonghwa could see why. They were similar to each other in the best ways, getting along easily and sharing a lot of interests. 

Over the past days where Seonghwa sometimes had joined San and Mingi in their hangouts with their respective roommates - and Wooyoung -, he had to admit that he liked Yunho best out of the trio. His naturally disarming and approachable aura made it hard to not appreciate his company - even if he still seemed like a typical straw in Seonghwa’s eyes. Kind but naive. Gentle but weak. And apparently Mingi’s perfect type.

_Good luck to them searching for mermaids together._

With the afternoon class over and evening arriving, Seonghwa’s thoughts returned to the ominous announcement from this morning about having a specific partner assigned. He thought he’d get by unscathed and without any bother with his single room providing him all the privacy he could wish for, but their teachers obviously had different plans. This time he couldn’t get out of it. 

Him and Yeosang met with San and Mingi in front of the great hall when it was dinner time, just like on the previous evenings. After taking their usual spots at the witch table, they were able to enjoy their food without any interruptions and it was making Seonghwa more than a little suspicious. He could tell that his fellow students and even the fairies felt the same by the subdued atmosphere blanketing the hall in a silence broken only by occasional quiet chatter. Everyone knew what should be coming, yet their professors showed no sign of starting another speech or giving more information about the supposed partner project. 

“Why aren’t they talking about it? They can’t have forgotten?”, Yeosang frowned, noticeably tense and just as anxious as the rest of the students. “No, they haven’t. They probably have some kind of plan”, San tried to reassure him, barely occupied with the issue it seemed. Mingi nodded along, sharing the optimistic mindset. It was when they went their separate ways after finishing dinner with nothing at all having happened though, that Seonghwa began seriously contemplating whether they had experienced a mass hallucination at breakfast. 

The confusion was written plainly on his face as he turned another corner, having memorized the way to his room perfectly by now - or so he thought. He was so distracted by his inner turmoil that it took him a while to realize that the hallway didn’t look the same as it did on the day before. There was no one else in sight despite there usually being a small yet regular number of students on their way in the same direction as him. He stopped walking, the ramblings in his mind coming to a halt alike and almost turning into fear. _Am I going insane?_

He tried to stay calm and focused on mentally sorting through the various illusion spells he’d already learned plenty about - even if illusions didn’t qualify as purely dark magic, they _could_ take the form of a curse easily - and how to counteract and dissolve them. 

_It’s not a simple_ Deceptia _, as it’s the same basic surroundings_. _It’s rather something that makes the familiar appear as wrong and unknown. That rules out cloaking spells like_ Nubia _as well. If it was_ Choria, _I_ _would be unaware of being trapped. So what is it?_

His legs moved on their own accord while he continued wrecking his brain for a solution. When he reached one of the hallway’s broad windows, he let his gaze roam over the courtyard below, eventually getting stuck on the fountains that he shouldn’t even be able to see from this side of the castle. Even more unusual was how the water wasn’t flowing within them, being stuck in mid-air, as if stopped in time.

Seonghwa’s eyes widened. _Time. Of course._ He was stuck in a spell that used chronologic magic. And he knew only one of those that could be combined with an illusory aspect.

“Inceptio”, he said out loud, glad that he wasn’t actually going mad. In its essence, _Inceptio_ wasn’t known for following harmful intentions. It could be used to temporarily stop time and let whoever got stuck in it be slightly disoriented for that fixed period - good for creating a distraction, trying to gain more time for oneself in potentially dangerous situations and thus managing to make a new “start” in reality away from whoever was hit by the spell. It was popular in light more so than dark magic, which was why it took Seonghwa comparably long to figure out, even if he had found himself intrigued while learning about it just a few months ago. It was the opposite of the dark, often permanently working _Deceptia_ , which was commonly cast with less than noble intentions, focused on a particular victim. 

Since _Inceptio_ was a powerful combination of different subtypes of magic in comparison to _Deceptia_ ’s pure darkness, it was demanding to cast and could only be enabled for a short time. Seonghwa was relieved when the illusion crumbled around him for precisely that reason. What he didn’t expect, was coming face-to-face with a certain red-haired fairy who was standing right in front of him after just a second of blinking. 

By the look Hongjoong was giving him, he hadn’t seen it coming either. “What are _you_ doing here?”, he asked without any preamble, proceeding to take in the hallway - returned to its original state - around them. “Am I still locked in the _Inceptio_? But I thought it was only able to affect one person at a time?”

Seonghwa promptly connected the dots. “We were both trapped in one. We only got out quickly again because it’s a very unstable spell, not meant to last for prolonged periods of time.” The only question was _why_ that had even happened to them and who had cast it. Seonghwa could make a guess. He didn’t like where his thoughts were running in making sense of the seemingly random meeting, but he felt that he had to voice them. 

“I think our teachers are behind it. We were trapped in the same spell because…” He paused, gauging Hongjoong’s reaction and whether the fairy had caught on too. Judging by his continuation of Seonghwa’s sentence, he had. “We’re partners”, he stated, his face taking on a sullen expression. “Brilliant. Couldn’t they just have told us normally instead of creating this confusion?”

Seonghwa was busy processing the fact that he’d been paired up with the exact person he had wanted to avoid at all costs, but he still shrugged, refusing to let his disappointment show on the outside. “They probably wanted to give us some entertainment to make it more fun and less serious.”

Hongjoong scoffed. “As if this could ever be close to _fun_ in any way. I can’t believe I’m stuck with you of all people.”

“Likewise. I don’t see how we are supposed to work well together”, Seonghwa deadpanned, the airy pretense he had kept in his voice disappearing at once. Hongjoong crossed his arms in front of his chest and not for the first time Seonghwa noticed their height difference - not extreme but still quite prominent. 

“Maybe we can talk to our teachers, make them reassign us different partners. It’s worth a try in any case”, the fairy huffed, just as frustrated. “Fine by me”, Seonghwa replied steadily. Before he could say anything else, Hongjoong reluctantly reached out to grab his left arm and drag him back to the great hall. The rough touch wasn’t appreciated, but the sudden searing pain piercing through his muscles even less. 

Seonghwa hissed, pulling his arm away and holding onto his wrist where the burning sting was channeling rapidly. Hongjoong was apparently experiencing the same thing, holding onto his own left hand and letting out a short cry of pain. “What’s happening?”

Seonghwa was quickly losing every last drop of patience he had left. Not only was he stuck with the worst partner, now he was also in pain because of that blockhead carelessly touching him. Most of all he was angry at his teachers though for making them undergo this strange and highly unnecessary farce. 

He was about to spit out some kind of response but before even opening his mouth, another person appeared next to them - Seonghwa didn’t know her. But Hongjoong did. “Professor Min? What is going on here?”, he hastily asked, regarding the woman with a stressed look while rubbing his hurting wrist. Seonghwa was slowly recovering from his own shock but he was scared to glance at his hand. 

“You both don’t have to worry. You have simply received your respective marks, binding you together for the duration of your collaboration as partners. It was triggered through initiating physical contact”, the fairy teacher spoke calmly, pausing shortly before continuing pensively, “Admittedly, you were assumed to exchange a friendly handshake after meeting and realizing what was happening. That wouldn’t have been as painful, seeing as the spell manifests in the same manner as the mood and intention of the touch given.” 

Seonghwa barely witnessed Hongjoong flinching at her words. At least he was showing some remorse. _He truly is the rudest fairy I have ever had the displeasure of encountering_ , Seonghwa thought disdainfully, proceeding to address the professor himself next. “Is it really necessary for us to be… _bound_ like that? And why did you trap us in an _Inceptio_ illusion beforehand?”

The woman’s former cheerfulness returned to her soft features. “I knew you two would recognize the spell perfectly. You’ve both expressed interest in it before - that’s what I’ve been told. As for your marks, they most definitely are necessary and already part of the first assignment you’ll have to complete together.”

Hongjoong stayed quiet, visibly paling at her explanations, so Seonghwa resumed asking questions, keeping his composure. “What do you mean, _interest_? And what’s the assignment?” 

Professor Min sighed. “One thing at a time. You've each learned about the spell before, showing a special curiosity for it, which is why it was a fitting choice. As for the assignment, I’ll let you two find that out by yourselves. We just want you to get to know each other - take your wrists as a hint and then go from there.” She smiled, notably pleased. By what, Seonghwa couldn’t tell, considering he and Hongjoong didn’t look anything close to satisfied. “Maybe not tonight, as it’s getting late. But you best get started tomorrow right away as soon as you receive the required additional information. Only one week's time per task.”

 _Wait, they consider “getting to know each other” an assignment?_ Seonghwa frowned, about to protest and inquire even more details of the teacher, but she swiftly made her exit, wishing them a good night. Their surroundings suddenly came alive again, the strange hush and remnants of the illusion vanishing and making them realize that they weren’t alone in the hallway at all. Other students were standing together much like them, all with confusion written over their faces and inspecting their wrists with worried eyes.

Hongjoong raised his own hand to do the same and Seonghwa followed his example. What he found was a glossy black, beautifully drawn musical note etched into the inside of his wrist. Surely not what he would’ve expected.

“What does this mean?”, came Hongjoong’s mutter from his right, the fairy’s eyebrows drawn together as he was analyzing the matching musical note on his own skin. The only difference was, that his was colored in a faintly glowing silver. 

Seonghwa was too exhausted to think of it in a complicated way. “Do you like music?”, he blurted out. 

Hongjoong turned his head towards him, obviously contemplating if he should give an answer. “... Yes”, came the reply eventually, and subsequently, “You?”

Seonghwa gave a small laugh. “Are you that dense? I have to like it if this is something we presumedly both enjoy.”

Unsurprisingly Hongjoong put his defenses back up without hesitation. “ _You_ asked me first.”

“I was testing you. You failed.” It was a lie, but the fairy didn’t have to know that.

Hongjoong didn’t take the bait, breathing out loudly and biting his lip before moving away from Seonghwa. “Alright. I’m going to my room now. See you, I guess in… music class, latest. Unfortunately.” 

_Of course. Of_ course _I’m sharing music with him._ Seonghwa didn’t want to accept how another one of his favorite subjects would be messed up by the fairy’s presence. His _partner’s_ presence. He needed more time to properly contemplate and reflect on how to handle their future meetings - now was not the moment, just like last time. _Will it ever be?_

“See you”, he merely echoed, unenthusiastic as ever. Hongjoong spared him a final annoyed glance before passing Seonghwa and taking the stairs leading up to the next floor behind him. 

Contemplating the shimmering note on his wrist for a few more seconds, Seonghwa thought that the fairy and him would need every bit of luck in the magical realm to make them cooperate in a civil and productive way during the months ahead. 

~*~

Wooyoung hadn’t considered himself unlucky in most of the situations life had thrown at him so far. He had a loving family, great friends and was attending a prestigious school. A good life, one would say.

Yet, Wooyoung felt as if all the blessed aspects of his existence the spirits had apparently bestowed upon him were suddenly being snuffed out like candles in the wind. The reason for that was simple - and it came in the form of a stone cold wizard by the name of Yeosang. “ _You’re_ my project partner? This has to be a mistake, I’m already your roommate.”

Wooyoung suppressed rolling his eyes at Yeosang’s complaint. He heavily doubted that their teachers had made a mistake, as much as he wished they had. A part of him was halfway blaming himself for not smoothing out the conflict in their relationship until now, supposing that it was precisely that which had led their professors to forcefully put them together even more. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried though - the wizard was clearly at fault, refusing to act friendly in any way.

“Look, I’m absolutely _not_ happy with this either but we can’t change it”, Wooyoung began but Yeosang immediately interrupted him. “Who says we can’t?”

“Me”, came a third new voice, distinctly male and stern. “Just like the rest of the teachers.” Wooyoung would definitely remember Yeosang’s expression fading from anger into fear within a single moment, his attitude changing 180 degrees solely through one of his teachers addressing him like that. He couldn’t even manage a retort, his mouth opening and closing, struggling to find words. 

The older wizard, fairly intimidating to Wooyoung with his tall and strict figure, didn’t give him a chance anyway. “You’re one of my best students, Yeosang, but your stubbornness in this case is not appreciated. Focus your energies into creating a lucrative collaboration.” Without faltering, he set his dark eyes on Wooyoung next. “The same goes for you. There aren’t many other duos who have shown such amounts of trouble. We hope to see positive results from now on.”

“Yessir”, Wooyoung squeaked for a lack of a better acknowledgement of the teacher’s demand, involuntarily taking a step back. The man nodded, done with delivering what he had wanted to say - and also with dealing with the two of them. He left without saying anything else, leaving them standing in the hallway. 

At least it had turned back to normal after Wooyoung had found out that he had walked straight into a veil of glamour, making the bleak aquamarine stone of the castle appear overgrown with greenery and colorful flowers wonderfully. Wooyoung had been puzzled at first but certainly not taken long to admire the pretty spellcraft. That was, before Yeosang had joined him out of nowhere.

Said wizard stood shell-shocked, blinking occasionally. Wooyoung waved a hand in front of his face. “Hello? You there? No need to shut down like that”, he giggled, noticing the exact moment Yeosang turned back into his usual serious self. “Be quiet. This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t so obnoxious”, he grumbled. It only made Wooyoung laugh more. “Excuse me, but I think _you_ were the one getting scolded by your teacher. I had nothing to do with it. And for the record, if anyone here is _obnoxious_ it’s you with your unapproachable and mean attitude.”

“What gives you the right to say something like that? You don’t even know me.”

“Well, I’m _trying_ to get to know you, but you seem very determined to not let me”, Wooyoung sighed and when Yeosang further narrowed his eyes he added in a sugary tone, “Thank the blessed forest that we’re project partners too now, hm? You’re gonna have to crack some time.”

“Never”, Yeosang replied coldly. “I don’t wanna talk about this anymore. Let’s go to our room and let it be.”

“Right, we’re sharing a room. Truly must be fate at work with the two of us”, Wooyoung mused, earning another death glare over the wizard’s shoulder but it left him unscathed and rather with a mischievous smile. The short encounter with the witch professor had shown Wooyoung that Yeosang wasn’t nearly as tough as he pretended to be. Now that they were bound together in more ways than one, Wooyoung was set on making him drop the surly act and open up stronger than ever. 

Even if they actually didn’t talk to each other again before going to sleep that night, Wooyoung refused to let it burden him. He might’ve been very unlucky indeed for having been paired up with the most difficult partner, but he’d put his efforts into bettering their situation.

_Just you wait and see._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to get interesting... Also thanks a lot for almost 1000 hits - I'm really happy about all the support this story is receiving, it keeps me motivated!


	7. VI

“Please, Mingi? _Please_?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

An exasperated breath left Hongjoong’s lips as he ran his hands through his hair. If someone had told him a week ago how he’d essentially beg a _wizard_ of all people to help him out, he would’ve punched them in the face. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

After the disastrous discovery of the last evening - read: Seonghwa being his project partner - he’d had quite some trouble falling asleep, only distracted by Mingi grinning from ear to ear and rambling about how very happy he was to have been paired up with Yunho, showing off the greyish-silver crescent moon shining on his wrist proudly. Yunho had apparently received a golden sun instead. Hongjoong was not surprised at all by the news but still glad that at least those two were able to experience joy upon meeting. He was hoping for the same for Wooyoung, which would make Hongjoong himself the only unfortunate one. And unfortunate he truly was.

Just like Professor Min had announced, Hongjoong had obtained the proper information for what had been dubbed the first “assignment” in the form of a folder containing several neatly organized sheets of paper. Written on them were various questions you’d ask if you wanted to find out more about a person, partly general and partly adjusted to their specific exchange. 

The instruction at the top of the first sheet read “ _Fill out these papers with the necessary facts as you gain them from your partner. You have one week to complete and hand it to the teacher who gave you the basics last evening. This may seem too easy of a task, but fear not, the assignments will not stay as simple in the future. Best of luck!_ ”

Naturally, Hongjoong had no intention of _actually_ asking Seonghwa all of these things. The concept itself was already too bothersome and many of those questions were even straight up cringeworthy. “ _What is your favorite animal?” Are they for real?_

That was why Hongjoong figured it would be enough to just interview one of the wizard’s closest friends instead - there was no better choice than Mingi. If only the latter wouldn’t be so adamant in refusing his request.

“I can’t do that and you know it. It defeats the whole purpose of this task”, Mingi sighed, declining for the third time within ten minutes. They were both getting ready to start their second day of classes, still in their room and only one topic reigning over their usual morning exchange. 

“I _do_ know, but you don’t understand. Seonghwa and me, we don’t get along at all. We’re not the same as you and Yunho, all sunshine and harmony”, Hongjoong tried reasoning but Mingi kept his unwavering attitude. “Interesting for you to use a phrase like that, but yeah, it’s true that you got off on the wrong foot. Although that doesn’t mean you can’t start over - trust me when I say that Seonghwa is not a bad guy. You just gotta get to know him better. Preferably not through murdering him with your eyes.”

Hongjoong chuckled without any real humor. “As if I could ever do that. I don’t meddle with dark affairs, light and healing is what I excel in. But him? I don’t even wanna know what that jerk is plotting behind my back.” 

Mingi clicked his tongue. “What did we agree on? No false assumptions based on petty prejudice.” 

Hongjoong ignored him, running his hand over one of the questionnaire papers absentmindedly. “If this is only the beginning, I can’t imagine what else they are planning for us.”

“Well, _I_ am excited to find out”, Mingi hummed and Hongjoong didn’t have it in him to be annoyed at his roommate’s happiness. The wizard was definitely also _excited_ to find out Yunho’s favorite color. That said, Hongjoong would still have his head should he potentially upset Yunho in any way.

“You’re taking history too, right?”, Hongjoong continued, throwing the folder on his bed and taking up his bag instead.

“Yep”, Mingi answered. “And so are all of my friends as far as I’m informed.” With a small glint entering his gaze and in a more subdued tone he added barely a second later, “I could create an opportunity for Seonghwa and you to talk to each other.”

Hongjoong was tempted to hurl at the suggestion. “Please don’t.”

They stepped out of their room, Hongjoong walking towards the stairs in a swift tempo, Mingi catching up effortlessly. _Damn long legs. Another reason for him and Yunho already being best friends forever._

“Aww, but why? You have to get rid of this weird tension between you someday.”

There certainly was a tension between Hongjoong and Seonghwa. One he’d rather not occupy his mind with too much. It was as if a taut string was being pulled between them, guaranteed to snap eventually. There was also the issue of their unpleasant first meeting remaining, obviously the biggest obstacle to overcome, yet none of them had _properly_ brought it up until now. Honestly, Hongjoong didn’t even want to, considering the memory one of his worst ones. Moreover, he generally wasn’t in the mood for brooding and speculating about how his and Seonghwa’s relationship might move along, given their bumpy past or not. “Not today.”

“Fine, your problem. It would be embarrassing though to fail an easy task like this, just saying”, Mingi shrugged, knowing fully well that with his words he’d always hit a nerve with Hongjoong’s ambitious streak. It was slightly unnerving how the wizard was able to read him so easily after knowing him for such a short time, but strangely disarming at the same time. 

Hongjoong clenched his jaw. “I’ll figure something out. Maybe San would be willing to help me instead, worst case that is.”

“I highly doubt it, but you are welcome to try.”

Hongjoong threw the wizard a pointed look that clearly told him to let it go and luckily it worked. He wouldn’t _fail_ this stupid assignment. He just hadn’t come up with a solution yet that didn’t involve the very person he was meant to get the required answers from. 

For now he’d concentrate on his classes, motivated and curious about the new things he’d learn. Not even the dreaded questionnaire hanging over his head like a cloud of doom could dampen his delight about studying more about all his surroundings and the magic connected to them. 

~*~

“ _Get to know each other._ That’s what she said. How am I supposed to follow that order?” Seonghwa was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling contemplatively, fingers laced. A tiny speck of dirt right beside the glittering chandelier caught his attention and he stared at it. 

“Don’t ask me”, came the tired reply from Yeosang who was sitting on the floor next to him. He had casually invaded Seonghwa’s room after their first class of the day had ended, claiming that he should share his privilege with his best friend who could use some peace and quiet during the break before afternoon lessons. After coming to terms with the fact that he’d be stuck with the nuisance that was his fairy roommate even more, he had to let his mind rest. “At least she told it to you nicely. Professor Lee seemed rather angry.”

“You seriously must’ve messed up then”, Seonghwa giggled, getting a hit to his left leg in response. Their main teacher for dark magic wasn’t famous for losing his temper easily, rather keeping up his stern facade with a cold aura effortlessly. “Jokes aside, I don’t wanna listen to something like what happened in history just now ever again”, Seonghwa sobered up, replaying the uncomfortable scene before his inner eye. 

To his own and Yeosang’s dismay, they'd found that they were sharing history class with both their newly assigned partners. And Mingi, cursed be his overly friendly demeanour and obliviousness, had made them all sit next and close to each other to "make the best" out of this rare occurrence of a class being shared by so many of them. Of course Yeosang had gotten stuck with Wooyoung but at least Seonghwa could save himself in between San and Yunho instead of spending the lesson with Hongjoong directly by his side. 

The amount of hissing and thinly veiled antagonism going on between his best friend and his roommate that he had witnessed throughout the three hours had spoken for itself. Seonghwa admired Yeosang for his patience. He was just glad that he himself had been able to focus on the teacher droning on about the beginnings of the first magical civilizations settling down in their country, proceeding to form and divide the realms of light and shadows. 

“And _I_ don’t wanna talk to this guy anymore. Much less about these annoying questions. I just _know_ he’d reply with only nonsense to mess with me”, Yeosang continued lamenting, having found himself confronted by an unexpected and absolutely not appreciated dilemma - as the _first_ task of presumably many more to come. 

“I feel your pain. Trust me”, Seonghwa said simply. It was not a lie, but letting his gaze swipe over the black note on his wrist - he hadn’t even commented on it with any of his friends yet, having encountered only Yeosang at breakfast extra early and with other pressing matters to discuss on the latter's side -, he was unable to suppress the slight glimmer of curiosity appearing at the back of his mind, sparked by and combined with the memory of yesterday evening. _But Hongjoong likes music. Can he really be that bad of a person then?_

Yeosang turned towards him, concern overshadowing his otherwise flawless face. “Are you serious? Please, I can’t lose you too.” That’s when Seonghwa realized that he had unknowingly voiced his previous thoughts out loud. He blinked, caught off-guard and opened his mouth in protest, but any words he might’ve wanted to say died in his throat. Yeosang was already rolling his eyes and turning away again. “It seems I’m the only one left who’s still sane. Hopeless, all of you.”

Seonghwa felt conflicted, trying to understand where this sudden reconsideration had come from. Was he getting soft? Losing his edge? Just because of an insignificant mark? No, that wouldn't do. "I didn't mean it like… that." Even he himself inwardly cringed at how weak of an argument it was. "But a part of me wants to be diligent for this project, which is why I can't help clinging onto every clue I have that could be of advantage."

Yeosang hummed, not buying it. "How did you even discover that he likes music? Did you bond over your _hobbies_?" The statement was dripping with sarcasm and Seonghwa's stomach dropped. "No…", he drifted off shortly, pondering about what to say. Something prevented him from mentioning the partner symbols, being aware of the conflict between Yeosang and Wooyoung and reasoning that it wasn’t the right moment. "It just came up randomly, through the professor appearing and explaining the situation."

“Enjoy your mutual passion then”, Yeosang muttered, seemingly done with the topic. And Seonghwa could only wonder about whether he and Hongjoong would actually be able to do that. 

~*~

If there was one subject one could count on to throw out a huge mountain of homework after only the first lesson, it was _fairy literature_. Writing an essay consisting of several pages within two days? A classic, and usually not that much of a problem when you did your research well. 

Hongjoong still found himself groaning, dropping his head on the table before him after having read over the same paragraph for the fifth time. For some reason his brain refused cooperating with processing the ancient sentences. Strictly speaking, he _knew_ the reason but he also told himself it wouldn't do any good to dwell on it. 

“Why are you so unfocused today? It's not like you to lose your energy this quickly”, Wooyoung inquired from his right, fanning through the pages of his own book. They had both decided to get the biggest amount of work done as soon as possible after their joint afternoon class had ended roughly half an hour ago. Yunho had attended his first lesson of neutral magic instead and Hongjoong assumed he was still hanging out with Mingi. So Wooyoung and him went to the library as two and sat down at one of the - admittedly dusty, yet beautifully ornate and sturdy - tables, looking for and also finding the respective books they were supposed to analyze. 

The library was empty except for them and a few other dedicated students, and since their teachers had reassured them that it wasn’t a place which took its rules of silence as seriously as they were used to, they didn’t have to feel bad about talking at a normal volume. It had something to do with mermaids being very social and carefree creatures, who never shied away from sharing their thoughts with their companions and the wish to keep that sentiment alive. They were certainly similar to fairies in that aspect and Hongjoong found it interesting. Hongjoong was also sure that " _The mystery of the golden shell_ ” would usually be a delight to peruse, taking into account its apparent high prestige status among the fantastical genre of magical literature. But not when his mind was occupied with other things. 

“And why are _you_ so calm? Doesn't that first assignment trouble you at all?” Hongjoong didn't even care about the slight whine carrying in his voice. 

Wooyoung blew out a breath between his teeth. “You have no idea how much it does. Especially after this morning. Letting that tear me down though would only give my _partner_ confirmation of me being weak. I can't let that happen, much less when I'm determined to show him exactly what I'm made of.”

Hongjoong scoffed. “Why do you even bother? Yeosang’s the prime example of a snobby and stuck-up wizard, all hope’s lost.”

“That's what he _wants_ you to think. There's more to him and I'll find out what it is.”

“What are you planning then to make him answer the questions?” Hongjoong was still clueless regarding Seonghwa. They hadn't exchanged anything except a few tense, almost awkward glances today, which was arguably better than every other encounter they’d had so far but most definitely couldn't be counted as an actual success - or progress. Mingi's intentions of making them sit together were fueled by goodwill, but that didn't mean they were fruitful. 

“I’ll just keep asking. And I’ll answer when _he_ asks too. This is a two-way mission after all”, Wooyoung declared, underlining what he had just written on the currently half-full page of his notebook. “If he still keeps being stubborn until the task is due I’m gonna cast a truth spell on him, fulfilling my end of this stuff at least”, he continued, more mumbling and thoughtful. “Although that leaves the struggle of pinning him to one place as well, so that he can’t escape. What do you think of a binding illusion?”

Hongjoong let amusement replace his worried features for a moment, sitting back up and resting his chin on his hand. “I really taught you well when it comes to handling witches.”

“And I'm grateful”, Wooyoung grinned back, pulling up the sleeve of his shirt that kept bothering him while writing. That's when Hongjoong noticed how his friend didn't have a symbol on either of his now uncovered wrists. He frowned. “Where's your partner sign?”

Now it was Wooyoung’s turn to frown. “What are you talking about?”

“The symbol that marks both you and your partner as precisely that. Mine is a musical note”, he explained, absentmindedly letting his fingers drag over the drawing and before Wooyoung could react he added, “Did you touch Yeosang?”

Wooyoung’s eyes finally snapped to Hongjoong’s face at that, no longer as engrossed in his notes and he looked at him as if he had grown two heads. “ _What_? Why would I touch him?”

Hongjoong chuckled. “I don't know, something like a friendly handshake maybe? At least that's what Professor Min suggested. I bet she didn't count on me roughly grabbing Seonghwa’s arm. We both got this thing burned into our skin right after.” He showed his wrist to his friend who was taking it in with a fascinated expression. “Painful experience, very telling of our situation if you ask me.”

Wooyoung seemed intrigued, ignoring Hongjoong’s last remark. “This is an extraordinary type of magic. Not easy to cast and rarely heard of. I’ll see if I can find something about it here.” With that he got up immediately and vanished between the rows of bookshelves. Hongjoong almost called out for him to wait but he was already gone. 

With a sigh he went back to skimming over the marked pages of his book. The content just didn’t want to stick. Until Wooyoung returned approximately five minutes later with a wide smile and sparkling eyes, he had gotten absolutely nothing done. _Wonderful. Work for another day then._

“Guess what, I found a book about soulmates”, Wooyoung began, retaking his seat and throwing open the ancient tome he had acquired. “S-Soulmates?”, Hongjoong choked before he could stop himself. “Are you sure that’s the correct category?”

His friend was nodding vigorously. “Mermaids are known for being romantic. I figured they’d record spells like this under such an aspect and I was correct. They’re even its original creators, which is probably why our teachers thought it would be fitting to use in this project, considering the location.”

“It’s basically a mermaid spell for a mermaid place?”, Hongjoong summed up, still not convinced of the whole thing. Since when did their professors care to be so… _corny_?

“Indeed. It’s not an actual binding as it can’t be cast permanently, usually disappearing on its own after several months.” Wooyoung traced the prettily written lines on the page he was currently reading with his finger, clearly absorbed in the task. “The magic explores two people’s minds, finding whatever it is they have in common most strongly and could potentially connect them, in other words, make them bond efficiently. In its beginning stages, it was mainly used for gatherings of small crowds who didn’t know each other, making interaction in self-chosen duos easier for them. Infliction of the marks gets triggered by a physical touch and is usually painless, since the spell was primarily applied for benevolent purposes, cast on persons with non-violent intentions.”

That made a lot of sense. It seemed like the perfect kind of tool for their situation and confirmed everything Professor Min had said. It was Hongjoong’s fault that it had hurt so much. He did feel a little bad about it - but only a little.

Wooyoung wasn’t finished with his explanation yet. “Sometimes - very rarely - it was reported that the marks _did_ stay on the two people affected by the spell, assumedly for an indefinite time period. Here one would conclude that the bound duo was a pair of true soulmates, united on a deeper level and lucky to have found each other.”

“Well, _that’s_ never going to happen here”, Hongjoong immediately countered, not fond of such an intense romanticization. Leaving aside the fact that he still had no idea why the collaboration between fairies and witches was even taking place now after decades of enmity, he simply couldn’t fathom finding a pair of soulmates among them, having been thrown together against their will in the first place. Additionally to that, their respective nature and mindset were so different, it just had to be an impossible feat to accomplish. He only had to assess his own dire circumstances to recognize that. The only case where he could imagine something like that to occur, was for people like Yunho and Mingi - a rarity that definitely wouldn’t come about often.

“Never say never”, Wooyoung insisted, always having shown a weakness for ancient romantic myths. Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. “So you want to be _soulmates_ with Yeosang? Really, of all people out there, you couldn’t have found someone better?” His teasing words had the anticipated effect, a blush promptly rising on Wooyoung’s cheeks. “N-No, how could I? He’s the worst”, he sputtered, shutting the book swiftly with an unnecessarily loud _snap_. “Anyway. Thanks for telling me about this. I see it as my duty as the sensible one in this relationship to make mine and his marks appear. Right this evening.” 

The flustered determination radiating off him made Hongjoong picture his friend chasing the stoic wizard around their shared room, trying to catch him. It made him laugh. “Have fun accomplishing that.”

Something devious entered Wooyoung’s formerly befuddled expression. “Oh, I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having too much fun with all the potential of the magic in this universe, no regrets. Also, there are so many things going on behind the scenes that no one is aware of yet, I'll just keep dropping subtle hints~


	8. VII

“Favorite of the four classic elements?”, Yunho asked cheerfully. 

“Fire!”, Mingi responded immediately.

“Really? I think mine’s water”, Yunho mused, writing down his partner’s answer under the respective question and ticking it off. The fulfillment of their first assignment was going splendidly. They were more than halfway through the questions at this point, not many pages - two, to be exact - missing. Considering the many things he’d already learnt about Mingi through interviewing him, and vice versa, it was a rather fitting task to start their collaboration off with. 

Mingi hummed appreciatively. “Can’t say I’m surprised.” Yunho glanced over the edge of his papers curiously. “Why?” 

“It suits you”, Mingi merely shrugged. “The source of life, healing and refreshing. Soft yet strong.” Yunho felt a tiny smile rise to his lips. “Thank you. It’s the one I feel closest to, something like an affinity.”

“That’s right, fairies tend to develop affinities for specific forms of magic. I’ve read about it.” Mingi sounded very proud of his knowledge. “Us witches don’t even understand the concept of connecting with magic on a deeper level like that. We just bend it to our wills however needed and that’s it. It has always bugged me, to be honest.” The way he said it had an almost pouty quality to it.

“It doesn’t have to go on like that. You can learn to appreciate it more”, Yunho tried comforting him, truly meaning it. “It’s not easy, but recognizing the problem is already the first step for making it better by changing your approach to magic. I believe you’ll be able to do it - and I’ll help you with it.” 

It earned him a bright grin from the wizard, silent gratitude shining in his eyes. Yunho quickly averted his own, marveling at the sea instead. They’d gone to the beach after their first lesson of neutral magic had ended in the late afternoon. 

It had been a highly interesting and informative class, held by both a witch and a fairy professor and attended by surprisingly - or not - few students. They’d learnt about the basic differences between light and dark magic, how one could counteract the other and how there existed certain spells that were able to add to each other depending on the conditions given. As for what they’d be learning and doing over the next months, the teachers had mostly remained secretive, yet it was clear that the focus wouldn’t lie on either of the two main types of magic, as expected. It was rather centered around how to potentially make them complement or cancel each other out to create a neutral fusion. 

Interesting it was, but it required lots of concentration and mental strength, so relaxing by going through the assignment questions by the beach afterwards had seemed like the best choice to both Yunho and Mingi. Yunho made use of his trusted picnic blanket - obviously he’d taken it with him for the trip - as a proper seating opportunity, and they kept talking, the various questions providing enough room to elaborate in several ways. The minutes ticked by and turned into hours, so that they hadn’t even realized how the sun was already slowly beginning to set. The sky was painted in beautiful hues of orange and pink, the sea glittering below it. 

Yunho dreamily took in the sight. “It’s gorgeous.”

“It is”, came Mingi’s mellow agreement but when Yunho turned back to him, he wasn’t looking at the ocean. He was still looking at Yunho. Before the latter could react though - as if he would’ve been able to do anything else aside from blushing -, the wizard cleared his throat rather unsubtly, shuffling his papers. “Do you want to do another page before leaving?”

“Sure”, Yunho nodded, letting the moment pass without further ado and twirling his pen between his fingers. _Don’t be ridiculous. He didn’t mean it like that_ , he thought distractedly. What he said to Mingi was, “We’re close to being done anyway. This is the second-to-last page.” 

He skimmed the first inquiry and found himself excited yet again. The questions had gotten more complex and deliberately about fairy-witch dynamics the further they had worked through them. No wonder the truly engaging ones under this category were kept as the finishing touch. “Have you ever been to the East, also known as the realm of light, and if so, what was your experience?”

“Right. It says the same for me, except for _light_ being exchanged with _shadows_ ”, Mingi confirmed, continuing in the same breath, “I’ve been to the East, twice. The first time was nice, the second one… not so much.” A slight frown marred his features but he wasn’t showing any signs of being uncomfortable with talking on. “My father’s older brother, my uncle, fell in love with a fairy. It was seen as quite a disgraceful act from the rest of the family, but luckily my parents didn’t approve of their narrow-mindedness. While everyone else cut ties with my uncle, we stayed in contact and thus we were the only ones invited to their wedding - in the realm of light. The fairy’s own family was very accepting of the union and meeting all of them was great. My aunt turned out to be the sweetest person.” Something wistful entered his gaze, clouding the seemingly pleasant memory with a misty aura of melancholy. 

“What happened?”, Yunho quietly encouraged Mingi to carry on, not liking the sad expression on his face. Nothing could be heard apart from the calming ocean waves surging against the shore, no other people present besides the two of them.

Mingi gave a shake of his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s all fine now, mostly.” Just like that, the gloomy aura lifted off his shoulders and he returned to his usual bubbly demeanour. “How about you?”

Yunho appreciated the considerable amount of trust Mingi had already shown him by telling him the first part of this story. There was a chance that he’d find out the conclusion on some other day in the future. For now, he absolutely wouldn’t push his new friend to spill his personal issues like they were nothing. “I’ve never been to your realm of shadows”, he said for that reason, unbothered by the focus shifting to him and accepting it readily.

“You can visit me when this is over”, Mingi suggested and Yunho knew that he could never decline such a tempting offer.

~*~

If Yeosang hadn’t been convinced before, _now_ he was entirely certain that Wooyoung had lost his mind. The meddlesome fairy had taken it upon himself to try and corner him, apparently determined to… _touch_ him for some unknown purpose. Yeosang definitely couldn’t fathom why he was persistently making one attempt after another to establish some sort of bond with him, regardless of being rejected constantly.

Having successfully evaded Wooyoung’s hands in spite of having been caught completely off-guard upon entering their room after dinner, Yeosang now stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest at the same position by the window as on the very first evening after arriving. “Take another step and I’ll curse you”, he stated calmly, the threat of his words simmering beyond the cold disguise of his voice. 

Wooyoung mirrored his pose and cocked his head, his right foot tapping on the floor impatiently. “What curse would you put on me?”

Yeosang resisted the urge to roll his eyes after the fairy had chosen to focus on the clearly wrong aspect of his sentence. “Come closer and we’ll find out”, he replied coolly, already going through a list of possibilities mentally. _Maybe I’ll just turn him into a mouse. Harmless but effective._

Wooyoung kept staring at him, probably at war with himself on the inside, eventually sighing loudly and turning away in evident frustration. Yeosang felt accomplished in having successfully intimidated him - the fairy wasn’t underestimating him. 

“I guess I really gotta explain it to you after all. If only you weren’t so stubborn”, Wooyoung grumbled, leaning on his desk and pointedly looking at the folder that held his papers for the first assignment. Yeosang firmly avoided thinking about his own, having stuffed it into the drawer of his bed stand unceremoniously after reading through the instructions in the morning. He had made sure to leave even earlier than normally, not in the mood at all to discuss that discovery with Wooyoung. Perhaps his weird behaviour had something to do with it, which made it even worse.

“Say it then”, Yeosang demanded, more intrigued than he’d like to admit. 

Wooyoung started recounting the information he’d gained from a book in the library, regarding supposed _partner symbols_ and how they had to initiate physical contact for their own to manifest. Yeosang had never heard of a spell like that and he’d been reading a _lot_ of different content throughout his academic career. Seonghwa hadn’t mentioned anything like it either. “Why would our teachers do something like that?”, he said wrily, not convinced and fearing that Wooyoung was simply messing with him. 

“I wonder”, the fairy murmured absentmindedly - or rather faking his disinterest, as Yeosang saw him grabbing something swiftly from his desk. “What are you-”, he began, but it was too late. 

Within mere moments Wooyoung advanced, sprinkling something sparkling and powdery on him before he could dodge it. He coughed through the small cloud of dust, clearing it from his front with strangely sluggish movements and coming face-to-face with Wooyoung’s smirk. “Got you”, the fairy teased liltingly. 

To Yeosang’s horror he realized that he was right, as when he tried backing away he felt that he _couldn’t_. His muscles were paralyzed, not allowing him to take a single step. He was still able to move his mouth at least. “What did you throw on me?”, he pressed out, scarcely containing his anger. 

Wooyoung’s smirk morphed into a short giggle. “Nothing terrible, just a dash of _Hibi_ powder I had with me. Fairies tend to use it for its temporarily numbing quality, putting the person it's applied on to sleep for some hours.”

“S-Sleep?”, Yeosang echoed and no sooner had the stutter left his lips, did he feel an unpleasant wave of fatigue weighing down his already useless limbs. He was getting weaker by the second, his words becoming affected by the magically induced drowsiness. “Y-You’ll re-regret… this…”

If it weren’t for Wooyoung standing so close and catching him, he would’ve fallen to the floor right then and there. The fairy’s arms closed around his waist and he faintly noticed a floral scent enveloping him. Despite the powder numbing all his senses, he could feel a tickling sensation on his left wrist. _So he was telling the truth after all._

The begrudging admission was the last coherent thought Yeosang formed in his mind before registering his world shifting and figuring the soft material under his back meant that he was lying down on a bed. “‘m… sleepy”, he murmured, a small snort barely reaching his ears and then he was gone.

~*~

"So."

“So."

Hongjoong could see his knuckles turn white from how hard he was gripping the edge of the fountain he was sitting on. His papers laid in his lap, crisp white in the sunlight and the pen between his fingers was strained to the point of almost breaking in his tight hold. Next to him, Seonghwa was in much the same position, hands folded patiently and staring ahead. 

They had only one day left to finish their first assignment, so they’d agreed to finally start working on it after encountering each other in their joint music class this afternoon anyway. It had been a mildly awkward affair, since it was a class none of either of their other friends shared and they'd merely ignored each other the whole time. The motivation behind their meeting now was based solely on their mutual sense of duty. Hongjoong could compliment Seonghwa on that at least. He _did_ have some dedication, the way Hongjoong had watched him act during shared lessons - not that he’d ever confess to that - making him appear like an ambitious student. 

That’s why Hongjoong had decided to take the first step, suggesting that they sit down together and… _talk_. He had thought the open environment of the courtyard would create a more pleasant atmosphere, but it wasn’t helping an awful lot. It also really didn’t help their case in the slightest, that the wizard was turning out to be as difficult to cooperate with as ever, ignorant of Hongjoong’s - forced - amicable endeavour. 

Hongjoong took a deep breath. _Might as well get it over with_. “ _So_ , when is your birthday?”

For a while, only the fizzing of the fountain behind them could be heard and Hongjoong was about to throw his questionnaire into the dirt and leave, when Seonghwa rewarded him with a quiet reply. “April 3rd. Yours?”

Hongjoong hated all of this. He jotted down the date reluctantly. “November 7th.”

“You were born at the border of autumn and winter then. Interesting date for a fairy”, Seonghwa surprisingly elaborated on the response. 

Hongjoong hadn’t seen that coming. “I could say the same for you. Spring wouldn’t be the first season I'd think of associating with you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You shouldn’t.”

Just like that, after only one question, they were back to one of their typical staredowns, neither relenting. Hongjoong felt his frustration rising rapidly. He didn’t want to fail this stupid task. It wasn’t even hard or complicated in any way, yet it seemed like an impossible hurdle to overcome with a partner like Seonghwa. Why was it so tough for them to get along? If only he could've come up with another solution by now - but he hadn't. 

Hongjoong slowly let his gaze stray to his partner's exposed wrist unconsciously, taking in the musical note, as black as the night sky. If what Wooyoung had read to him in the library a few days ago was true, talking about the topic apparently connecting them would help them bond more productively. “What kind of music do you like?”, he asked casually in an effort to lighten the mood. 

Seonghwa clearly hadn’t been expecting that, uncertainty showing in his features before he started browsing through his papers. “That’s not a question here, is it?”

Hongjoong remained unfazed. “It’s not. I’m asking you for no other reason than music supposedly being our common ground, to potentially make this thing less unpleasant.”

"Fair enough." Seonghwa put his questionnaire down, expression changing to a thoughtful one. “I like… piano. Listening to it always calms me.”

Hongjoong couldn’t deny how his heart jumped at those words. Was the spell actually working? He finally managed to unclench his hands, spinning his pen between his fingers in a display of feigned nonchalance. "Is that so? I've been playing the piano for several years."

He glanced at Seonghwa from the corner of his eye, observing his reaction. Unfortunately the wizard was doing a great job at guarding his expression, simply giving a short nod and keeping his tone neutral. "That's quite an unexpected but welcome coincidence. Why didn’t you volunteer for a demonstration earlier in class?”

Hongjoong scoffed, not missing the underlying, mocking component of the question. “I only play for myself and people who are worth it.” _So not the likes of you_ , went unsaid. 

Seonghwa raised one of his infuriatingly perfect eyebrows. “I see that you have strong principles - or you’re just not as good as you claim to be.” Hongjoong would’ve taken offense, but instead he found himself thrown off at the vaguely humorous quality Seonghwa had layered over his voice now. “Either way, I know where you’re coming from. Maybe we have more in common than originally anticipated", the wizard added breezily, the statement obviously loaded with a whole other backstory on his side.

Hongjoong blinked exactly once. "... Maybe", he commented after a prolonged pause, directing his attention to the assignment papers. 

It wasn't much, not really. But it was _something_ \- this was the closest they'd ever gotten to a civil and peaceful conversation and small steps would still take them to their destination at some point. He didn't want to mess it up before their task was done, so he went back to the questions without preamble and was glad to find Seonghwa following his example without further complaint. 

They were able to complete the questionnaire within a reasonable period of time due to their respective responses staying as short and impersonal as possible. The required answers to the numerous inquiries didn't have any minimum amount of words to be written down or anything after all. Hongjoong was silently celebrating when they reached the final question. It was too good to be true, but he didn’t wake up from the dreamlike situation, meaning it had to be real. _Small steps._

“What is the blessed forest and why is it so important to the fairies?”, Seonghwa asked, pen held ready to jot down an explanation. Hongjoong wondered if their blessed forest signified the counterpart of what was called the _obsidian city_ on his own papers. 

“The blessed forest is the center of the East, spanning a wide area reaching near the border of the realm of shadows. It’s a sacred place, housing countless species of flora and fauna, including benevolent spirits gathering and providing the greatest source of collective, pure light magic. Fairies gain much of their energy from it this way, often guiding it to be useful in many places throughout the whole realm of light with the help of those spirits”, Hongjoong narrated, like he had already learned it as a child. 

Seonghwa was writing composedly, no rush in his hand’s movement and Hongjoong waited for him to be done patiently. They had come too far for him to risk ruining it now. “What’s the obsidian city?”, he eventually inquired when Seonghwa returned his attention to him.

“It’s not unlike what you described about your blessed forest, just on the opposite end of the spectrum, no sign of life to be found. Located far in the north, it’s less of an actual city than a grande formation of at least thirty or more obsidian monoliths, deeply imbued with dark magic. Its surroundings are veiled in shadows constantly and getting too close is forbidden, as the sheer intensity of unfiltered darkness would be too much to handle, even for a witch. Our ruling councils have established wards for it to not go out of control on its own. This way it works as a prominent source of magic for us as well.”

That was… fascinating, but simultaneously unsettling, as it must be a scary place filled with lethal amounts of cursed energy. Hongjoong didn't want to imagine what could happen if such a power would be unleashed upon the world freely. “We also have our council of elders taking care of the forest's safety", he mumbled, having missed that particular detail in his own illustration. One had to acquire official permission to step into it and Hongjoong remembered how he and Yunho had befriended Wooyoung through being put into a trio with him on their first excursion scheduled by their academy, roughly two years ago. "More things in common than originally anticipated, huh?”, he proceeded repeating Seonghwa’s words from earlier, scribbling down a rough summary of the wizard’s explanation. “One way or another, that is”, he added under his breath.

“Seems like it.” Seonghwa ruffled through his questionnaire. “We’re done.”

“We are”, Hongjoong confirmed, exchanging an accomplished look with his partner. They’d managed to interview each other without getting into a fight - even if that had taken an undeniable amount of restraint on Hongjoong’s side whenever the wizard had provided yet another example of his snide remarks, concerning anything to do with fairies and their “idle” practices. He'd retaliated with his own opinions about witches and their dusty traditions, their arguments canceling each other out in turn without building up to get out of hand. 

Thus they parted on a slightly less tense note than usual, Hongjoong offering to take both of their paper stacks to Professor Min - she’d given them a meaningful glance after the music class had ended, expecting results. Seonghwa had squinted at Hongjoong suspiciously at first but relented with a resigned sigh, after figuring that it wouldn't be of any use for him - or make any sense - to only hand in his own. 

On his way towards the music room, Hongjoong was contemplating the weird truce he and the wizard had established this afternoon, not to mention the short intermission before they had gotten to the assignment business. Most importantly, he was relieved to have finished this stupid task, as uncomfortable as it may have been in the end, but at the same time he was feeling a bit ridiculous for having procrastinated it for so long. He hated to admit that Mingi had probably been right, urging him to just _try_ communicating with his partner throughout the whole week. He could’ve rid himself of this dumb worry much sooner.

 _What matters is that it’s over. For now_ , he thought, shaking his head shortly to clear his mind, before knocking on the door to the music room. As expected, his teacher was inside, opening it quickly and leading him to her desk. “I’ve been waiting for you, Hongjoong. I hope you returned with good news?”, she laughed, visibly overjoyed and very excited at the prospect of him and Seonghwa finally getting along - as far as what they’d been working on in the courtyard fell under that term. 

“I did”, he affirmed, laying down the two paper stacks on the table. His eyes lingered on Seonghwa’s for a second too long, the artist in him assessing the wizard’s orderly cursive handwriting, admiring it inadvertently. It didn’t compare to his own messy scrawls, rather portraying a carefully controlled kind of elegance, fitting for its owner. Beyond objectively characterizing the letters as beautiful though, Hongjoong didn’t find himself giving the same appreciation in regards to Seonghwa’s personality as he had gotten to know it.

_For all we have in common, another thing makes us so different again._

“We didn’t… go into details, but we answered everything. For both of us”, he elaborated, Professor Min nodding happily, flipping through the papers superficially. “Don’t worry about it. You made an effort to complete it and that is what counts.” For a moment, her mood changed. “Frankly, I see no logic in running a truth spell over your replies, since it wouldn’t do any good to either of us. Sadly I have my instructions.”

Hongjoong did see the logic. Of course the teachers had to use some method to check whether a duo had cooperated honestly, but they couldn’t actually blame someone potentially lying to a virtual stranger - of a strikingly opposing magical faction no less.

“No matter the results, you already passed”, Professor Min assured him with an encouraging smile. “You can tell that to your new friend too.”

Hongjoong tried sharing her enthusiasm but his small attempt at a laugh came out more strangled than anything else. “I-I don’t think we’re… _friends_.”

The teacher’s expression turned into one of understanding, although she winked at him right after. “Not yet, my dear. Not yet.”

Hongjoong felt a bundle of conflicting emotions rise at her words. Considering how the mental image of Seonghwa calmly writing down whatever he had chosen to present him with wasn’t immediately connecting to anger with its usual fervor - as long as he didn't include the occasional bickering -, she might even turn out to be right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so hard to write for some reason, but I hope it's not too bad.  
> Thanks a lot for all the support as always, and until next Monday!


	9. VIII

The first assignment was finished. At breakfast, exactly one week after the announcement, the professors from each faction had congratulated everyone who’d managed to work together despite “possible initial struggles”. They’d also told the students to await the announcement for the next assignment soon and that it would be one specifically related to a randomly selected joint class of both parties.

For Seonghwa, that left three subjects, all of which he shared with Hongjoong. He’d be lying, if he said he wasn’t relieved about how smoothly they’d gotten the first task done in the end - yet it also left him confused to an undeniable degree. He hoped that it would continue being this unproblematic in the future too, in spite of severe doubts creeping up at the sheer notion of keeping up the precarious peace between them. 

From what Seonghwa knew, Mingi and San had been able to effortlessly talk with their partners, lucky for them. Yeosang was a different story. Seonghwa had felt increasingly sorry for his best friend the more days of the week had passed without him making any progress in regards to the assignment - intentionally. Yeosang claimed that it was fine, that he was completely done with Wooyoung and that he’d favor Professor Lee’s wrath over another unpleasant skirmish with his roommate. Seonghwa didn’t blame him after the unfortunate situation the fairy had brought him into, putting a sleeping powder on him to numb his senses. 

_Who does something like that? And then they have the audacity to accuse witches as the evil ones in the same breath - this is why fairies can’t be trusted._

It pained Seonghwa’s heart to see Yeosang constantly upset, so that the latter hadn’t even needed to ask about staying at his room instead for the time being. Seonghwa encouraged it, understanding how the distance was necessary - the bed was big enough and seeing as Yeosang spent most of his time in the library anyway, they didn’t encounter any potential problems with desk-sharing either.

On the last evening, Seonghwa had picked Yeosang up from precisely there, finding him bent over a book about magical dispelling strategies. He was looking for a method to undo the binding spell, sadly leading into a dead end. The sole thing to do was waiting for the sign on his wrist to disappear on its own and it frustrated him immensely. Anytime the shiny and delicate emerald-green flower was visible, he made sure to pull his sleeve back down, hiding it and refusing to accept the symbol as a reference to his supposed bond with Wooyoung.

Seonghwa couldn’t say the same for himself. He found his thoughts and eyes alike straying to the musical note more often than not, especially since his last encounter with Hongjoong. All of his own issues paled in comparison with Yeosang’s.

Perhaps he could’ve done his part in _not_ making Yeosang’s and Wooyoung’s circumstances worse than they already were, by telling his friend about the strange spell beforehand. He knew it wouldn’t do any good to blame himself for it now, but he couldn’t help it.

“I can’t believe I handed in those blank papers. The look Professor Lee gave me was priceless”, Yeosang’s voice managed to pull him back into the present. The present in which they were on their way to their potions class. _How did this week go by so fast?_

“Honestly, you have to be feared for such a bold move. I bet he didn’t see it coming after scolding you like that.” Seonghwa almost laughed at the prospect. He had accompanied Yeosang to the teacher’s room before breakfast, witnessing the uncomfortable scene firsthand, undecided on whether he should respect his friend or scold him.

“Thanks. It won’t affect any of my other grades, as I’m showing peak performance in all subjects and no respectable witch is going to judge me for _failing_ a collaboration with a fairy”, Yeosang further defended his decision, the underlying tension in his tone the only hint for him not being nearly as pleased with it as he pretended to be. 

“Does that mean you’ll not even bother trying for the second task?”, Seonghwa asked, just as they reached the laboratory doors. Yeosang put his hand on the handle, pointedly ignoring the exposed flower on his wrist, putting on a strained smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Correct.”

“You’ll have to move back in with him, though”, Seonghwa threw in, remembering how Professor Lee had named it as a condition to not get excluded from the whole project immediately. Yeosang’s perfectly fake smile barely quivered. “Don’t remind me.”

With that they entered the laboratory, glad to find the same seats empty they’d occupied in the previous week. They were also glad to not find a certain duo of fairies in sight. Seonghwa wasn’t in the mood to occupy his thoughts with them anymore, hoping that they’d finally get to do some potions practice today. He missed going through new recipes, gathering materials and mixing them in immaculately exact ratios. No one could match him in potions. _Not even Hongjoong._

Just in that moment, said person arrived, Wooyoung by his side as always. Seonghwa avoided giving them anything but a flicker of a glance, which was more than Yeosang, who was busy going through his notes from the last time and displaying no outward sign of having noticed the fairies. 

Seonghwa was spared worrying about them when their teacher came in with a flourish, energetic and motivated. Seonghwa had never seen the man this radiant before - that went for almost all of the others too, including the headmaster. Except for Professor Lee maybe, being his unchanged stern and intimidating self. Seonghwa assumed their intense interactions with the fairies were affecting them in the same way as the students. Except cases like Yeosang, once again.

“Good morning. Today we will get to business after having put up a proper basis of knowledge last week. Please split into pairs for this lesson, as working on the potions as two will provide you with additional experience. Witches and fairies mixed, goes without saying - preferably assigned partners”, the teacher explained, the last sentence added after a small pause with an encouraging smile. 

To his left, Seonghwa could see Yeosang’s face draining of color, expression blank and fingers clenched around the pen he was hovering above his notebook. A truly relatable reaction.

“We’ll go through the setup as a whole class and afterwards you’ll be given more than enough time to work on the given concoction. Let’s begin”, the professor carried on, oblivious to it all.

Seonghwa desperately tried focusing on the various explanations, taking notes this time, the reason for it being how he vehemently refused to potentially embarrass himself in front of Hongjoong later. Not that he was _actually_ afraid, but it was infinitely better to make sure. Plus, he didn’t trust the fairy to be as great at the subject as he had claimed to be - much like the issue with being able to play piano. 

_With a rough personality like his, I still find it unbelievable that he’s allegedly creating harmonious melodies_ , Seonghwa let his thoughts wander back to the short exchange while writing down another ingredient studiously. His traitorous gaze went to his partner right after, finding him listening just as intently and scribbling on his own pages. He’d probably had the same idea as Seonghwa. At least they were… similar in that way.

The class kept passing and eventually every information the students needed to work on the potions - three in total - was gathered and explained. Seonghwa ignored the bad feeling in his gut when he rose from his seat, clutching his notebook and moving from the desks to the laboratory banks along his fellow students. When he found himself basically automatically carried in front of an ancient sink, he swallowed down his surprise at Hongjoong already having appeared next to him. The fairy wasn’t looking at him but a quiet “Hey”, stumbled from his mouth airily. Seonghwa felt obligated to greet back, breathing out a response. “Hi.”

Around them, the other students were starting to fill their individual workplaces with whatever they required, gathering around the numerous cupboards lining the walls and inspecting the available ingredients. Seonghwa spotted Yeosang scavenging through one himself, Wooyoung standing a few steps away, awkwardly watching. _This is going to be such a pain._

Seonghwa was about to offer getting the necessary ingredients for the first potion, when their professor caught both their attention, coming up opposite of them. “I assume you have heard about the second assignment being specific for one of your joint classes? Well, lucky for you, you’re getting potions this time.”

_Lucky for us._

“Y-Yes. What do we have to do?”, Hongjoong inquired, clearing his throat exaggeratedly to cover up his little stutter. The teacher seemed mildly taken aback that it was the fairy asking him, but not in a negative way. “You’ll have to brew a potion completely on your own. That includes basing it on a proper recipe as well as its ingredients, and it has to be done within a week. You’re allowed to use the laboratory for as long as you need to for this time period - I let the locking spell deactivate upon recognizing you both. Right now you’re free to choose two of the potions I wanted you to make, the third one being replaced by your special task”, he elaborated. 

That sounded nicer than Seonghwa would’ve expected. It was exciting, a challenge he’d happily face and overcome. The downside was that he’d have to cooperate with Hongjoong - on a _real_ task this time, whatever it may turn out to be. “Are there any criteria that have to be matched?”

The professor shook his head. “No, I’m leaving the decision to you, trusting you’ll make something reasonable. I advise you to take a look at the contents of the grande encyclopedia”, he gestured towards the thick, extravagant tome lying open on his desk behind him, “as it offers an array of interesting choices. What matters is that the potion you decide on is a success, brewed by the deadline in a week latest, but you can of course finish it at any given point.”

Seonghwa nodded, eyeing the promising book and longing for exploring its secrets. “We won’t disappoint you.” 

“Right”, Hongjoong confirmed, sharing his determination.

“Wonderful. I’ll be waiting for the result.” And with that the professor moved on, trying to get some order into the undeniable chaos forming among the students searching around the many cabinets.

“Any ideas?”, Hongjoong asked, ignoring the ruckus. 

Seonghwa did indeed have ideas. “I want to make something difficult. Something useful that’s demanding in its creation”, he explained in a tone that wouldn’t leave any room for argument. To his delight, he found the same kind of eagerness mirrored in Hongjoong’s expression. “Glad we’re on the same side”, he agreed, failing to hide the obvious relief at Seonghwa’s suggestion matching his own by noticeably relaxing his taut shoulders, despite his words remaining tinged by a nervous edge. 

“Do you think you’re up for it? It might be too hard for a fairy”, Seonghwa couldn’t help but tease. It earned him a glare that he’d become rather familiar with by now. “Don’t underestimate me. I know my stuff about this subject just as much as you. In fact, there’s a potion I’ve read about some time ago - perhaps we can find it.”

Seonghwa could’ve passed over Hongjoong’s proposition, pushing his own expectations on him, but for the first time, he genuinely didn’t want to. His curiosity was sparked and he wanted to see where they’d go with this second assignment. That’s why instead of ruining the mood, he merely felt the ghost of a smile threatening to break out at their surprisingly amicable arrangement, containing it at the last moment upon realizing that he should stay on guard, no matter the amount of supposedly pleasant twists. “Let’s get to it then.”

They went to the book, standing side by side before it, Hongjoong opening it right away and starting his search for the concoction he’d apparently like to make. Seonghwa studied him silently, detecting the moment the fairy found what he’d been looking for, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. “There it is.”

He got to a page that was somewhere in the middle of the book, nodding to himself while reading over the recipe and its making process. Seonghwa did the same, critically eyeing the list of ingredients. It was a fairy potion, no doubt, not very easy but also not extraordinarily difficult to brew - for him. It didn’t suit Seonghwa’s taste. “This is too simple”, he stated. “You could do that by yourself. I refuse to work on it as partners.”

He heard a deep sigh from his right. “I anticipated that, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“And _I_ thought you wanted to make something demanding?”, Seonghwa said derisively, feeling let down on the inside and with his enthusiasm turning to shambles rapidly. _What else did I imagine, really?_

“It _is_ demanding. The problem is that you witches always have to shoot right over the top, don’t you?” It was a rhetorical question but Seonghwa gave him an answer. “Yes, because we _are_ the undisputed experts in this area. Your weak fairy potion won’t do.”

Hongjoong pressed his lips together, clearly containing his annoyance. “Give me a suggestion then. Something _sophisticated_.” The last word was pronounced mockingly and this time it was Seonghwa giving the fairy a glare. “It’s called being ambitious.”

“Of course”, Hongjoong scoffed, returning his attention to the book. “Well then, feel free to find something in all your _ambitious_ glory and wisdom.”

The only thing preventing Seonghwa from losing his cool right then and there, was their teacher peering over at them, seemingly in approval. He grit his teeth. That was it for the peace.

Seonghwa shooed the fairy’s hands away from the book’s pages that he was still leafing through. He exchanged a disdainful look with his partner, predictably reflected back at him. “With pleasure.”

Before he could even turn the page though, Hongjoong stopped him. "Wait. It was a joke." 

Seonghwa paused. "... A joke?", he echoed, voice laced with confusion. When he turned to Hongjoong, he was shocked to find the fairy's previous anger melting away from his features, replaced by something quite mischievous. 

"I was testing you", he clarified. "You passed."

Seonghwa would never admit to the shiver running down his spine at the fairy throwing back the same words at him that he had used a week ago - with one major difference. _I passed. Does that mean…?_

Hongjoong interpreted his stunned silence as a cue to carry on. "I wanted to check and confirm whether you were cut out for making a complicated potion. Riling you up was just part of the fun."

Seonghwa was torn between several emotions. What was unsettling about the turmoil, was that not all of them were negative. "You never planned on making that fairy potion", he deduced.

Hongjoong snickered. "You got it."

 _I'm going lose my mind here._ Seonghwa was the one releasing a big sigh now. He hadn't seen it coming, at all. 

"If you hadn't been as rude with declining my offer, I might've informed you a bit earlier", Hongjoong said nonchalantly, relishing in having reached his goal of outsmarting him. 

Seonghwa was done with the fairy's antics. "Then you surely have no problem with us finding something _adequate_ for real now?", he prompted, effectively ignoring the jibe against his actions. 

Hongjoong gave a final giggle. Seonghwa consciously forced himself to think of it as nothing but irritating. "Absolutely not." Instead of disdain, it was a look of challenge they shared this time, a playful glint entering the fairy's gaze. "Let's do this."

~*~

“Wait! I said _wait_!”

“What do you want?”

One voice full of exasperation, the other dripping with contempt. Wooyoung followed Yeosang out of the classroom speedily in an attempt to catch up to the latter’s brisk pace. Their history class had just ended and the both of them had gotten told that it would be the target subject for their second assignment. 

“Didn’t you hear what the teacher said? We gotta start working on our next joint task”, Wooyoung huffed, tempted to grab Yeosang’s arm and stop him from running away. He was slowly becoming immune to the wizard showing him the cold shoulder constantly, but that didn’t make it any less of a struggle to get him to actually _communicate_ with him. 

Ever since the incident with the _Hibi_ powder things had taken a serious turn for the worse in their relationship and Wooyoung had regretted his actions tenfold. In his defense, who could’ve known that Yeosang was _that_ sensitive and couldn’t take a little joke? It made it much more complicated for Wooyoung to make true of his plans of getting the wizard to open up to him. Instead of reducing the animosity between them with the prank, he’d made it worse. 

Yeosang had temporarily moved out of their room - quite an extreme measure in Wooyoung’s opinion. He wasn’t sure if that was allowed, but he also hadn’t wanted to report it. He wasn’t exactly desperate for his roommate’s company anyway, especially with the way any effort he put into mending their relationship was providing him with nothing but setbacks.

“I already told you that I don’t plan on cooperating with you on any future assignments. This partnership is over”, Yeosang replied frostily, not sparing Wooyoung a glance. 

“That’s not going to work and you know it. And what about _my_ thoughts on the matter? This is also my reputation on the line here”, Wooyoung persisted, slightly offended when he heard the wizard muttering something that sounded awfully like “What reputation?”, under his breath. He put a hand on Yeosang’s shoulder then, making him halt. “Don’t touch me”, the wizard hissed, turning to face him and pulling away as if burned.

 _At least he’s finally looking at me._ “I’m sorry, alright? I shouldn’t have done that to you. It was mean and uncalled for.” It really wasn’t, considering Yeosang’s own behaviour, but Wooyoung couldn’t afford to make the situation even more dire. “Still, don’t you think you’re overreacting? You know that I feel bad about it and I apologized, so why can’t we move on from the issue?” He looked at Yeosang expectantly, putting forth an image of strong goodwill.

The wizard hesitated, a tiny flicker of _something_ flashing in his eyes. It was subtle, but Wooyoung definitely caught it, having become gradually attuned to Yeosang revealing the majority of his reactions in an inconspicuous manner.

It had also occurred while they'd been compelled into making potions as a duo, the wizard witnessing firsthand that Wooyoung wasn't nearly as incapable and stupid as he'd probably like him to be. Maybe Yeosang thought he'd been subtle in his judgement of Wooyoung's actions, but he'd noticed it all. From the surprised and reluctantly amazed raise of the wizard's eyebrows regarding Wooyoung's expert handling of the ingredients, to his almost ever-present frown when he'd accidentally dropped something - it spoke volumes. 

For that reason, Wooyoung counted the minimal response as a success, even if it didn’t hinder Yeosang from returning to his stony mask within a split second. “Nice try, but I'm not forgetting it so easily. You know yourself that witches and fairies couldn't be more different and certainly aren't meant for working together. Whatever solution we'd try and come up with, it wouldn't be of any use because we wouldn't be able to find a common ground in the long run."

Fittingly, finding a common ground was the most important key to their second task. They had to write an essay about a particular historical aspect, varying - or rather contrasting - perspectives thrown in and mixed into a mutually satisfying conclusion. Their topic turned out to be the analysis and comparison of diverse social relations within the magical world, then and now, highlighting significant changes and developments as well as giving critical reviews of each other's contributions. 

Wooyoung was moderately intrigued with the task, motivated to do his research, but it would all be for naught if Yeosang continued being stubborn and didn't drop the insulted act. 

"It has to be enough that we're remaining roommates", Yeosang mumbled quietly, about to leave Wooyoung standing there, but this time he seized his wrist swiftly. Yeosang tried brushing him off once again but he kept his grip steady, holding the wizard's gaze captive just as much. 

"Let go", Yeosang said, dangerously low. "No." Wooyoung wasn't even considering the request, unceremoniously pulling up his sleeve and revealing the green flower on his skin, perfectly matching the rich purple one on his own. "Do you see this? It's our partner symbol. _Partner symbol_ ", he repeated with emphasis. "It's connecting us for a reason, signifying what we both love - anything that has to do with botany. The next time, during that class, let me try convincing you that we _can_ work together well." 

It was his best bet. Previous week, botany had been the first lesson they’d shared after the sleeping powder incident and Wooyoung'd had a bit of a tough time fully concentrating on it, his fallout with Yeosang dampening his spirits understandably. He hadn't even been able to fully appreciate the cozy charm of the old greenhouse, sneakily hidden behind the castle's main building and with an array of empty flowerbeds scattered around it. 

He’d stuck to San, Yunho and Mingi, admittedly jealous to an extent of how well the latter two were getting along and falling into cheerful banter without any trouble. San didn’t appear as close with his fairy partner, yet they seemed to be doing perfectly fine. Wishing for the same kind of energy for his own collaboration, Wooyoung had found himself occasionally watching Yeosang, who had decided to stay alone despite both his friends' presence. They had acknowledged it begrudgingly and with a shrug.

The distance hadn’t been all that bad though. In fact, it had been oddly fascinating to Wooyoung, observing the careful way in which Yeosang was handling the given plant for the class’ task. His features had softened into a focused expression of dedication, an aura of peace surrounding him. It did have something analytical to it, the way he was handling the plant with a demure approach, lacking any visible feeling, but it was a fascinating sight nonetheless. 

It should’ve been out of place, not making any sense. A _wizard_ , not to mention one usually so stoic and austere, taking care of nature and arguably _enjoying_ it? It had been bizarre, frankly, and it had puzzled Wooyoung to no end, continuing to do so until this moment.

He'd been so distracted by the absurdity, that he hadn't realized how the plant Yeosang was tending to was one which's spores invoked a potent itching upon making skin contact. He'd found out the hard way that same evening, when he'd crawled into his bed and jumped back out of it roughly three minutes later, body on fire with the terrible sensation.

It had taken an extensive bath lasting until the middle of the night, followed by clearing out his bed sheets, finding the unmistakable traces of the plant on and within them. Yeosang hadn't been lying when he'd stammered that final threat before fainting. 

Wooyoung was simultaneously pissed, yet amused by the whole ordeal. Yeosang had paid him mind, even if it was merely for the purpose of revenge. And unlike the wizard, _he_ would take and respect it like the admittedly well-made prank it was. That's why he wouldn't bring it up - for now -, acting as if it had never happened, letting Yeosang recognize implicitly that it wouldn't stop him from trying. 

“These signs are the product of an ancient, foolish spell to create false amity, so I don’t need you to prove anything to me. We’re done.” Yeosang’s bleak reply pulled Wooyoung back to reality. He was ready to protest, but the wizard’s next words cut him off. “I guess if you’re so insistent, let me write my part of the essay, but don’t imagine me adapting to any of your musings.”

Wooyoung perked up at that. “So you’re going to do it after all?”, he enquired, hope shining through - and getting crushed immediately. 

“I’m not doing this for _you_. I assumed it would be fine to evade you and everything about this collaboration, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I simply can’t and thus also won’t let my dignity be impaired any further just because you’re a nuisance”, Yeosang denied, scoffing and finally pulling his hand away harshly. “I’m going to the library now”, he added, probably as a means of goodbye, and when Wooyoung made an attempt to join him he threw him one last icy glare. “I _dare_ you to follow me.”

Wooyoung shut his mouth, swallowing. Today’s limit of interaction had apparently been reached for Yeosang and Wooyoung could accept it. He’d gotten him to agree on doing something for their next partner task, which meant that things would get better from here on - hopefully.

He kept standing in the hallway, waiting until Yeosang disappeared downstairs and out of his field of vision, only now taking note of the other students who’d probably witnessed their little scene. Not that they actually cared - except for his friends. 

“That sure was another spicy encounter”, Hongjoong announced his presence, throwing an arm around Wooyoung’s shoulders. “I wholeheartedly admire your endurance. I would’ve lost my patience a _long_ time ago.”

“Oh, yeah? I wonder where your infamously short temper suddenly went, concerning your, I quote, _insufferable idiot_ of a partner?”, he shot back, making Hongjoong release him quickly and earning an indignant look. “How do you know I haven’t snapped at him? Besides, things have seriously been going too smoothly, suspiciously so. I don’t trust him and I’d say we’re in the calm before the storm.”

“Are you?” Yunho entered their conversation, appearing on Wooyoung’s other side, Mingi and San in tow. Seonghwa passed them without a word, as if they were just a bunch of strangers, going into the same direction as Yeosang had before. 

Hongjoong’s eye twitched. “Yes, we are. Our potions task will play a critical role.”

“A task in potions? That sounds so fun - I can’t believe I got stuck with a boring historical essay. Possibly by myself”, Wooyoung complained, too deep into his own misery to contemplate the weird tension between his friend and his partner. 

“Don’t be too mad at Yeosang. He’ll come around eventually”, Mingi assured him and Wooyoung wished he could share the wizard’s optimism. 

_Eventually. Whenever that may be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah, over 100 kudos, you're all the best readers!!! <3  
> I've also finished planning out the storyline properly and added an estimated number of total chapters based on it - just as a bit of an orientation for now.


	10. IX

Hongjoong let his fingers dance over the labels of the many jars and vials inside the cabinet he was currently crouching before. He was looking for a specific ingredient, a rare herb usually found in areas near the sea - this place should possess a great stock of it, at least that’s what he’d expected. Seeing how his search for the characteristically azure blue leaves was proving to be pretty unfulfilling, he felt his enthusiasm fade.

“You can’t find it?”, Seonghwa’s voice came from across the room where he was using a pipette to add exactly three drops of _Spuma_ elixir to their brewing concoction, simmering in a cauldron on low heat. The foam it brought forth would have to be removed from the liquid, preserved in a separate vessel for approximately two days, before it had to be layered over the otherwise finished potion as a final touch.

“I swear, there isn’t anything that even remotely resembles it”, Hongjoong grumbled, moving on to the final cupboard, creaking its wooden doors open roughly. 

After some more bickering going on during their selection process, Seonghwa and him had finally decided to create a complicated potion used as a potent memory enhancer. It was especially popular among students of any kind who were trying to stay on top of their studies, wanting to achieve it with a little magical help. It was also a mostly neutral one, making it a truly fitting choice for their joint assignment.

They’d been officially allowed absence from their respective afternoon classes with the excuse of working in the laboratory. It was getting late already - considering the potion was almost done -, rays of the descending summer sun illuminating the wide room with a mellow, orange glow.

“Maybe your eyes are bad or you just can’t read. Either wouldn’t surprise me”, Seonghwa teased, stirring the potion and observing a formation of soft bubbles emerging on the surface. Just as planned.

“You try and find it then, jerk”, Hongjoong snapped back, shutting the cabinet just as ungracefully as he had opened it, unsuccessful in his quest yet again.

“I thought we were over the petty insults”, Seonghwa noted, unfazed by the outburst. Hongjoong strolled towards him, leaning his arms on the lab bank a notable distance away. “Force of habit.”

The small snort he got in turn was indicator enough that Seonghwa hadn’t taken actual offense. Neither had Hongjoong. _When did this happen? When did we start… getting along?_

Hongjoong pushed down the strange uneasiness sneaking its way into his chest, weighing him down. There was a constant nagging at the back of his head, telling him that he _shouldn’t_ get comfortable around Seonghwa. That it was plain wrong and that he’d regret it if he reconsidered his feelings for the wizard. 

It just wasn't the same as with Mingi. They were like two opposite ends of the spectrum - Mingi, whom he had formed a steady bond by now, talking to him on a daily basis and laughing at his antics on the one hand and Seonghwa, the arrogant wizard embodying everything he despised about them with the bad memory of their first meeting leaving a stale aftertaste on the other. Hongjoong couldn't forget it so easily and it was angering him how his mind apparently wasn't able to stop his heart from opening up. _Getting over it_ , one might say. 

"I knew we should've checked for every ingredient before we began brewing it", Seonghwa sighed, sounding bitterly confirmed in his assumptions. "That's what I get for not taking care of it myself, but leaving it to someone like you instead." 

Hongjoong regarded his partner with a flicker of annoyance. Even if they weren't attacking each other and the tension between them was significantly less intense than it had been initially, Seonghwa still managed to get under his skin. His calm and collected attitude paired with his underlying, partly judgmental streak remained an effective tool to get on Hongjoong’s nerves. 

"Listen, it's not my fault. This place is _right_ by the ocean, the forest providing the ideal source for the herbs to grow. I'll just take a quick trip to collect a bundle, it shouldn't be hard to find", he offered, not minding using the opportunity to leave the castle grounds for a bit and relax within the adjacent nature. It had been too long since he spent proper time in the woods and he'd felt the pull getting stronger ever since he and his fellow students had finished healing the drained flora from the first evening.

Seonghwa nodded thoughtfully, fiddling with the heater buttons. "That's a good idea. Let me get this done in a second and then we can go." 

Hongjoong's excitement came to a screeching halt. He'd wanted to go by himself, not in the mood for company, least of all Seonghwa's. "Umm, you know… I meant to go _alone_." He paused momentarily, but when no reaction came he added, "I don't need your help for finding it. My senses are way sharper than yours and you'd only slow me down." 

Now he got a frown, morphing into something like a… pout? 

_That’s kinda cute._ Hongjoong shut the unprompted assessment down immediately. _I did_ not _seriously just think that._ Maybe the laboratory’s fumes were getting to his brain.

"Why do you fairies always have to act so high and mighty about everything related to nature? I'm your _partner_ and this is _our_ project, so I'm gonna accompany you in search of the last necessary ingredient, whether you like it or not." 

_Fair point._ Fair it was, but Hongjoong didn't appreciate it. “We don’t _act_ like it, we actually _are_ superior with these matters”, he defended, but he also knew that it would be useless to protest any further. “I’m not getting rid of you though, am I?”

Seonghwa didn't even spare him a glance as he scooped the pale foam from their potion, putting it into an empty glass jar carefully. “Nope.” Once the wizard was satisfied with storing the foam and putting the bigger cauldron away from the hearth, he took off his gloves, folding them neatly and eventually giving Hongjoong a determined look. “Let’s go.”

~*~

“A _trilith_ bush? I’ve read about those - they’re resistant and enduring plants, in need of lots of sunlight”, Yunho was rambling, giddily examining the middle-sized pot before him and Mingi, containing fresh soil and apparently the seeds and first, minuscule buds of a fast-growing magical shrub they’d have to make bloom within the course of the next week - it was their second assignment.

Wooyoung was sitting next to the duo, listening to their vibrant exchange not unlike the last time they’d had this class - with the difference of San and his partner being absent this time, presumably off to work on something related to their own new assignment instead -, failing in masking his obvious sulking at not having received a task as engaging as theirs - that was what Yeosang read from his face a few seats away. _Maybe we’ll get it another time. If there even is another time._

The fairy’s plan of working together with him, proving that they’d make a great team - to be fair, that was a _very_ optimistic assumption and nothing more - got flung out of the window spectacularly when Yeosang had threatened to put a silencing spell on him if he kept talking to him at the start of the lesson. A decision Yeosang firmly stood by, despite slowly losing his vigor in fending off his partner. The flower on his wrist was shooting a stinging sensation up his arm constantly these days - it was worrying, but Yeosang wasn’t willing to spare it any more than a fleeting acknowledgement, becoming accustomed to it slowly. 

He knew the reason for the pain. He _knew_ that the main problem laid within himself, namely his insistent refusal of cooperating with Wooyoung in any way. And Yeosang also knew that he could perhaps change it all for the better, if he wanted. 

But _did_ he want it? Not really. Wooyoung and him simply weren’t made to get along and no amount of forced assignments would be able to circumvent that fact. It went against everything he’d been taught throughout all his life, therefore it had to be wrong.

So what if they both enjoyed botany? Yeosang was already risking a lot of his good reputation by openly admitting his pride about his green thumb in the shadow realm, having come into contact with it all from an early age due to his parents and their modest garden market, filled with mostly nocturnal flowers. It was required some way or another, but it wasn’t a particularly lucrative occupation in their society - the low number of fellow witches attending this class was speaking for itself. If Yeosang then stooped as low as letting a _fairy_ meddle in his affairs, it would go downhill even more, also taking into account how his approach to the whole subject of nature was different from what someone like Wooyoung would deem adequate. 

Not that Yeosang was concerned about his opinion. Not at all. 

He sprinkled a few flakes of nourishing powder on the soil of his pot. Their teacher - a fairy one, of course - was mild-mannered and left them to their own devices most of the time, all the while encouraging them to connect with their respective chosen plant of the day on a deeper level. 

Yeosang hadn’t figured out how and especially _why_ he was supposed to do that. Plants were plants and the concept of viewing them as something alive and _independent_ didn’t make sense to him. One had to help plants grow in whatever way intended and then earn the fruits of the hard work, using it for other purposes. It was an uncomplicated, ever-repeating process of give-and-take. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Yeosang was so absorbed in his own thoughts, that at first he didn’t notice someone sliding into the seat next to him. When the person addressed him, he refocused, finding none other than Wooyoung, elbows propped up on the table and head leaning on his hand. The purple mark on his wrist was gleaming tauntingly in the afternoon sun that was shining through the greenhouse roof. “What did you choose today?”, the fairy asked casually.

"Take a guess", Yeosang responded unenthusiastically. 

"It's a _Quiscis_ plant, frequently found as a component in potions and teas that help with sleeping. You don't have insomnia, do you?" 

Yeosang stiffened. Not only had the fairy identified his plant of choice effortlessly, he was also aware what it was used for. Yeosang had merely chosen it because it reminded him of home, the calming herbal tea being a fixed part of his childhood. "None of your business." 

Wooyoung let out a tired breath. "At least it's not a _Darola_ this time." 

Yeosang definitely didn’t want to deal with pushing down his involuntary amazement, bubbling up at the fairy's evident knowledge. "I hope that gave _you_ some insomnia. Keep talking and I might get one again." He concluded that Wooyoung finally bringing up the issue meant that his plan for payback had been a success.

"Thanks, it was a fun twist in my boring daily life”, Wooyoung chuckled, taking the whole thing with an unbothered note of sarcasm. “And that would be a bad idea. You're back in our room, so I wouldn't hesitate to throw it on you instead, awake or not", he proceeded countering coolly. 

_Now_ Yeosang was actually tempted to silence him and about to utter his curse, when their teacher spotted them just in that moment, hurrying over with an expression of delight appearing on her face. 

_Oh no._

“Are you two finally talking to each other? I hope you'll be able to overcome your difficulties”, she smiled and Yeosang wanted to teleport away. Wooyoung on the other hand was apparently keen on maintaining the facade. “Yes, we figured it wouldn’t be helpful to anyone if we continued our unnecessary arguments. Isn’t that right, _partner_?” 

His saccharine tone and how he snaked a hand around his waist, made Yeosang dig his nails into the surface of his pot. “Right”, he pressed out, the teacher clapping her hands, congratulating them and seemingly overjoyed at the development, not seeing through the fake display in the slightest. _Fairies._

“But Professor, why couldn’t we have gotten a task in botany for our second assignment? It would’ve been nice, since we both love the subject so much”, Wooyoung inquired, eyes big and shimmering with a layer of disappointment. 

The teacher shook her head. “Don’t fret, you have many more assignments ahead of you. Your time will come and when it does I’m sure you’ll master it perfectly.” She shifted her attention from Wooyoung to Yeosang. “It’s rare to see a wizard as talented as you in botany. You’ll certainly be able to broaden your horizons through working with your partner”, she encouraged him and Yeosang gave a curt nod in response. 

_Broadening my horizons… in which aspects?_

The professor moved on and Yeosang wasted no time shaking Wooyoung’s arm off unsubtly, the fairy regarding him pointedly in turn. “Don’t be so touchy. I saved us both there.”

“Oh, did you?”, Yeosang deadpanned. “You straight up lied to your teacher, is what you did. Didn’t think a fairy could pull that off.”

Wooyoung snickered, but Yeosang had no idea what had been funny about his words. “There are lots of things about me that you wouldn’t even dream of.”

 _That sounds vaguely menacing._ “So you’re like a box full of surprises?”

Wooyoung raised an eyebrow at the question. “You’ll have to find that out for yourself.”

Yeosang scoffed. “No, thank you.”

“Figures”, Wooyoung sighed, stretching his arms above his head. “Whatever, I wanted to tell you that I’m finished with my part of the essay.”

 _That didn’t take long._ “Great, I’m too. Just give me your stuff and I’ll hand it in.” 

“Just like that? We didn’t even try to connect anything, and besides, what if we wrote about the same things or if it doesn’t add up?”, Wooyoung protested, blunt in his attempts to make them cooperate after all. 

“So what? I don’t care whether we fail or pass, as long as we handed it in and you leave me alone afterwards”, Yeosang said, refusing to accept how false it hit, even to his own ears. Clearly he did _not_ want to fail another assignment, but when the alternative was working with Wooyoung, he’d take it. _Because that wouldn’t end well._

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yunho and Mingi fussing over their _trilith_ bush, Mingi accidentally pouring several drops of water on his long sleeve, flinching and laughing about it with his partner. _Yeah, absolutely no way._

“Alright. Stay stubborn then. Not that I’m not used to it by now”, Wooyoung grouched, standing up and not granting Yeosang another look. “I’ll give my papers to you later in our room. Until then.” He ambled back towards the other two, taking his original seat with an air of dejection surrounding him.

 _This is the only way for us_ , the voice at the back of his mind insisted solidly, but it rang hollow and with a tint of desperation. 

~*~

Hongjoong hadn't been joking when he'd said he would leave Seonghwa behind on their trip into the woods. The second they'd reached the thinned out edge of the forest, the fairy had summoned his wings - beautifully translucent and reflecting the sunlight in a slightly hazy veil of rainbow colors, reaching over his whole back. Seonghwa had to admit that he was intrigued, as he had never seen actual fairy wings before. Wings that contained a _lot_ of speedy magical power it seemed, which made it possible for Hongjoong to rush away swiftly. Obviously Seonghwa could've called upon his broom and chased after him, but he wasn't feeling like flying at the moment.

Which was why he was currently stuck walking through the spare greenery by himself, his sole company the merry chirping of birds and the subtle humming of different insects. The heat of the evening sun didn't combine well with his dark robes, but it was minimally dulled through the scattered treetops. 

_That's not how I imagined this to go._ He threaded over the forest floor grumpily, feeling next to useless in an unpleasant way. In the end it was his own fault, but he'd only insisted on joining Hongjoong in the first place because he still didn't trust the fairy and refused to not have their work shared equally between them. Who could’ve known that Hongjoong would abandon him like this? 

_No manners_ , Seonghwa thought, even though it felt unnervingly shallow - as if he was compelling himself to think like that. _Mingi and San have started rubbing off on me, huh?_ It was a disillusioning discovery.

He sighed deeply, crouching down in front of a small bush bearing blue blossoms. It wasn't the herb they needed, but he could use a break. Hongjoong had told him to just call his name if he found something, the fairy's advanced hearing letting him notice right away, combined with the flora carrying his words throughout the area. That special bond with nature worked in mysterious ways. 

Seonghwa absentmindedly put his palm on one of the blossoms, brushing over the soft surface. Maybe he should reevaluate his own relationship with his environment and learn more about it. _Or I'm just being manipulated into believing that by a certain someone_ , his mind supplied right after, leading to him pulling his hand away as if he'd been burned. He got back up, dusting off his trousers. 

Suddenly a shiver went down his spine, seemingly out of nowhere and Seonghwa felt a menacing aura invading his senses. It wasn’t fully uncomfortable, as he recognized it as a manifestation of dark magic and he was used to handling it. Yet it had a distinct… _wrongness_ to it, pressing down on his chest and making it hard to breathe.

He observed his surroundings, eventually moving towards the direction from where he suspected the source of the spike of darkness to be. The further he walked, the more a blanket of silence settled over him - there were no more birds and insects to be heard, merely the faint whispering of rustling leaves under his feet and above him in the trees. It was quite unsettling, even for his standards.

He was sure that he was about to reach his destination, the oppressive aura getting stronger by the second, when he was embarrassingly startled upon Hongjoong materializing next to him, accompanied by a gust of wind. Seonghwa was able to avoid letting out an undignified yelp, although he stumbled rather gracelessly, his toes catching on a protruding root. He prepared for the fall, but it never came.

“Hey, careful!”, Hongjoong called out, showing quick reflexes by reaching for his arm and pulling him back up - and close. The fairy was hovering above the ground, his wings fluttering in a dazzling vision of twinkling light, giving him a slight height advantage over Seonghwa, reversing their usual position of confrontation. 

Seonghwa blinked exactly once, trying not to get flustered over their proximity. Hongjoong couldn’t hide the puzzlement in his features either, probably contemplating why he had even reached out instead of just letting Seonghwa land on the ground.

Seonghwa wanted to say something, but he found himself unable to, weirdly chained by Hongjoong's blue-green gaze holding him captive. A subdued warmth was seeping through the fabric of his sleeve at the spot where the fairy’s fingers were curled around it. The complete stillness around them wasn’t helping and the moment was only broken when Hongjoong finally cleared his throat.

“Sorry. I wouldn’t have expected you to be so jumpy”, he said breezily, recovering from the awkwardness and lifting his hand. He was undoubtedly not actually sorry at all, if the smirk forming on his face afterwards was any indication. Seonghwa yanked his arm away, stepping back and putting some space between them. 

_What was that? Why did he catch me? Should I thank him? His eyes are really pretty._ No _, they are_ not. 

His thoughts were racing, and in the end he settled for not saying anything, catching Hongjoong rolling his - _not_ pretty - eyes at his lack of response. “Anyway, I got the herbs. There’s a bunch of them growing further ahead”, he continued, Seonghwa discovering a bundle of vividly azure leaves peeking out of the fairy’s pocket. 

“How did you find them this fast?”, he asked, glad for the change of topic and genuinely curious, becoming aware too late of how the subtle admiration in his voice led to Hongjoong radiating an irritating smugness. “My senses are simply unmatched, in tune with nature wherever I go. Nothing _you_ would understand”, he boasted, finally dropping to the floor gently and making his wings disappear in a flurry of tiny sparks.

Seonghwa wouldn’t give him the pleasure of taking up the provocation in his statement. “Perfect. We can return to the castle in a minute, there’s just something I need to check out first”, he said instead, channeling his focus back to the ominous and unknown dark magic enveloping them. 

“I think I know what you mean. I can feel it too - it’s… _bad_ ”, Hongjoong agreed, noticing the lack of background noises and looking around in confusion.

“You’re as eloquent as ever”, Seonghwa jibed, following the mysterious energy drawing him in. He could hear Hongjoong right behind him. “It makes me want to run away and scream, is what I’m saying”, he elaborated with evident discomfort.

“If it’s too much for you, you can leave without me. I don’t mind”, Seonghwa said, feeling the truth in his words and next to no malicious undertones - it was already a lot for him, a wizard well-accomplished with dark spells, so he couldn’t fathom how negatively it was potentially affecting a fairy. He wasn’t as dumb as to not accept and validate such a fact, or even worse, tease someone for it. Any other fairy would’ve left him alone most likely and Seonghwa wouldn’t have blamed them. 

But of course not Hongjoong.

“Don’t underestimate me, I’m not a weakling. Let’s see what this cursed energy is about”, he fired back, steadier and less tense. Seonghwa nodded. They carried on and not much later they found what they were searching for. Right in the middle of a clearing, an obscure thing caught their attention immediately, clinging onto the tree standing there. They advanced slowly, identifying it as a… vine? A vine drenched in darkness and dubiously gleaming with shadowy swirls dancing around it. 

“Since when do vines grow like this?”, Hongjoong frowned. “They don’t, as far as I’m informed”, Seonghwa mumbled in return. He wasn’t _informed_ regarding botanical matters in general, his skills limited to potion ingredients and nothing more - like the average witch. But it didn't take expertise to discern this as something that wasn't normal. He squatted down and pondered whether he should take the risk of touching the plant. _Maybe not._

Hongjoong joined him on his left. “I’ve never seen something like this before. It’s so small, yet it gives off such a suffocating aura.”

“Reminds me of someone”, Seonghwa remarked drily, earning him a hit in the shoulder from the fairy. “Very funny”, Hongjoong muttered, followed by, “This thing is creepy beyond measure. We should tell someone about it, preferably a teacher.”

Seonghwa saw the logic in that but he couldn’t agree. “No. It’s nothing too terrible as of now, so I’d say we should keep watching it and see how it develops. Like a sort of experiment”, he suggested, serious. 

Hongjoong gave him an incredulous look. “You don’t want to tell anyone? But what if it’s dangerous?”

“I’ll ask Yeosang whether he’s ever encountered something like it. He’s an expert in botany”, Seonghwa explained and upon finding Hongjoong deepening his expression of disbelief at the description, he added, “I know it’s difficult to imagine, but he truly is.”

“Just like Wooyoung then”, Hongjoong mused, returning his gaze to the sinister vine. “Since they’re partners anyway, we should consult them both. They’ll be more capable than us in handling it.”

Seonghwa wasn’t convinced of Wooyoung’s abilities, but he could rely on Yeosang one-hundred percent. Plus, trying to figure out a thing like this together might mend their relationship a bit - like it had for Hongjoong and him. Even if they still were far from being _friends_ , collaborating productively had put them on a shared ground successfully and Seonghwa appreciated it. 

“Fine by me.” With that he got up, turning his back on the strange plant. “Let’s go back and mix the herbs into our potion.”

Hongjoong nodded, visibly unsettled and mildly disturbed by the vine, but keeping his composure in spite of it. Seonghwa took the short period where he gave it a final, doubtful glance, focus diverted, to take in the fairy who’d become his project partner. The way he’d summoned his wings and found the herbs so easily was definitely impressive, but what occupied Seonghwa’s mind even more was how Hongjoong had prevented him from falling down. The atmosphere between them had changed into an entirely different tension than usual - as if time had been slowed down and come to a halt just for them. 

It greatly added to Seonghwa’s already overwhelming confusion concerning his feelings for Hongjoong. Just over a week ago he was dead set on loathing the fairy forever, disliking his coarse mannerisms whenever they were forced to interact more than anything. By now he found himself gradually digressing from such a path of pure rejection. He was getting used to Hongjoong’s personality, interpreting most of their bickering as entertaining more than annoying and he assumed it was going the same way for the fairy.

Said fairy gave a quiet shudder, scrunching his nose in distaste and crossing his arms in front of his chest, ultimately stomping away in firm strides, eager to have the cursed vine gone from his vicinity. Seonghwa followed him from a little distance, ignoring his traitorous thoughts leading him into the unknown territory of associating Hongjoong with anything close to _endearing_.

~*~

“See, I told you they’d find it - and that they wouldn’t report it.”

“Yes, you were right about them being trustworthy. Everything went according to plan.”

“You’re not going to finally let me in on it all, are you?”

“... No. I’m sorry, but it’s too early. Nothing personal.”

A peeved huff. “Yeah, right. I’m still supposed to help you though.”

A sheepish smile. “I’d be grateful.”

“Then you can count on me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite chapter so far ^^ feel free to drop potential theories about everything (if you want to), I'd be curious!


	11. X

Wooyoung was angry. No, scratch that, he was _furious_. 

He had just encountered the history professor on his way back from the library, done for the day with all of his classes being over. The teacher had been vastly unhappy about the result of his and Yeosang's second assignment, calling it "pointless" and "pretentious" in its strictly separated sections. 

Wooyoung couldn't help the embarrassment burning on his face, knowing entirely well himself how terribly they had combined their respective parts - namely not at all. 

The professor had reprimanded him wordily, reminding him that this was already their second failed partner task and that it was getting ridiculous and tiring. 

_You're telling me_ , Wooyoung thought sullenly, stomping through the hallways while glowering at everyone and everything, set on confronting Yeosang for the umpteenth time - with a different approach this time. Friendliness and subtle advances clearly weren't working, so he was done playing nice. 

When Wooyoung reached his destination, he swung open the door of the room forcefully, not caring how it banged against the wall loudly. What he found was his frightened roommate sitting on his bed, dropping the book he'd been reading on his lap and giving him a wide-eyed look. Unsurprisingly he wasn't used to Wooyoung being anything other than adjusting to _his_ moods. 

_That's about to change._

Wooyoung took a deep breath, fully stepping into their room and throwing the door back closed behind him. "My dear partner, I bring unfortunate news. I was just notified that our historical essay was graded as a failure, which means we messed up pretty badly", he began, eerily calm, folding his hands and steadily advancing in Yeosang's direction with carefully measured steps. “Yet _again_ , we messed up. And I’d like to ask you now, whose fault do you think it is?”

He came to stand right in front of the wizard, the latter displaying his usual frown but nothing more. “If anyone is at fault here, it’s our teachers compelling us to carry out this collaboration in the first place. What else did they assume?”, he replied coolly, infuriatingly unbothered.

Wooyoung bit his lip, lowering his head for a moment and nodding, before swiftly closing the final length of distance between them, effectively towering right above Yeosang who immediately leaned back, the book sliding off his lap. Wooyoung followed, undeterred and invading his personal space intentionally. “If anyone is at fault here”, he echoed venomously, “it is _you_. It’s solely because of _you_ that we keep fighting, that we keep failing everything we should be _passing_ easily, that _I_ keep losing my last nerve by being forced into dealing with you on a daily basis.”

The wizard was visibly caught off-guard, suddenly frozen and staring up at Wooyoung wordlessly. That hint of _something_ returned to and flared in his eyes, struggling to break out and make him reflect on his behavior. 

“You don’t have to like me. You don’t even have to _talk_ to me during our free time at all, if it’s so absolutely terrible for you, but let me tell you this”, Wooyoung continued, his tone gaining a ranting quality to amplify the dripping poison, “If you refuse to cooperate with me on the third assignment - and every single other one to come for that matter -, I’m going to show you who’s the _straw_ here.”

Silence. 

Yeosang was apparently stuck in a kind of stupor, blinking wildly while holding eye-contact with Wooyoung. The latter raised a demonstrative eyebrow, prompting him to speak. 

Yeosang gulped. "... I'd like to see you try." It came out somewhat hoarse, coupled with a defiant edge, but before Wooyoung could snap at him once more, Yeosang dropped his gaze at last, putting his hands on Wooyoung's shoulders. He started pushing him away with a cautiously controlled strength, until Wooyoung was far enough for Yeosang himself being able to get up from the bed, standing opposite of him with an arm's length separating them. 

_What is he playing at now?_ Wooyoung wondered, more than a little suspicious, yet he kept waiting for whatever the wizard would offer him. 

Yeosang retracted his hands hastily, eyes averted and focused somewhere to Wooyoung's left, obviously struggling with putting into words what was on his mind. Eventually, he pulled through by breathing out only one. 

"Sorry." 

It was quiet, _very_ quiet, but it rang like thunder in Wooyoung's ears. _Did he just… apologize?_

"What was that?", he inquired for that reason, not trusting what he had heard. _Am I dreaming?_

Yeosang huffed, fingers nervously fiddling with the hem of his robes and straining to actually meet Wooyoung's dumbfounded look of surprise. "I'm _sorry_. I… I really am", he repeated, louder and more determined this time. "I've been acting like a real jerk and it was uncalled for. I simply didn't know how to make it better, especially because I absolutely didn't trust you and your kind - and I still don't -, but you do have a point, as much as it pains me to admit it. I don't… I don't want to keep failing all these tasks, just because of my own insecurities, knowing that we could… manage them in a more productive way."

Now it was Wooyoung's turn to be stunned into silence. He'd expected many things, but Yeosang giving him a full-fledged excuse was certainly not among them. 

Something vulnerable flickered over the wizard's troubled features, probably interpreting Wooyoung's lack of reaction as rejection. "Say something", he urged, and - wait. Was he _blushing_? 

Wooyoung didn't appreciate the sudden realization, his already muddled thoughts not being helpful in the slightest by notifying him anew just how beautiful the wizard was when he wasn't hiding behind a stony scowl. 

_Not the right time to be thinking about stuff like_ that, Wooyoung scolded himself, proceeding to shift his attention back to reality. Yeosang was waiting for a response. 

"Yeah, alright. I accept your apology. I'm just glad you finally came to your senses - took you long enough", Wooyoung smiled, his former anger evaporating like a cloud of dust. Yeosang kept staring at him, some of the discomfort flowing away from his expression. Wooyoung didn't want to get his hopes up _too_ high, but he had to continue, "So… does that mean we're both on the same side? We can be _real_ partners from now on?" 

He saw Yeosang clench his jaw. "Yes. We can", the wizard affirmed. 

_Thank the spirits._

"Great!", Wooyoung cheered, clapping once and swiftly brushing by Yeosang to sit down on the latter's bed. Admittedly a bold move right after they'd just agreed on making peace, but he didn't care. 

Contrary to Yeosang. "You know, that doesn't mean I want you occupying my private space like that, unsolicited", he grumbled, slipping back into his standard attitude with ease. 

Wooyoung couldn't help but tease him for it. "Aww, back to playing the cold, unapproachable loner when just a second ago you were all soft-spoken and flustered", he lilted, demonstratively leaning back on his hands and ignoring the annoyed glare his roommate was giving him. A glare that shifted into an outburst of another blushing incident.

"T-That's not true. I'm someone who cherishes having time to myself and there's nothing wrong with that." That was what he said, nonetheless sinking down next to Wooyoung. 

"You're really weird, you know that?", Wooyoung giggled good-naturedly and he'd be lying if he said it didn't feel refreshing. "You're one to talk", Yeosang retorted, evidently in the same manner. 

_Wow, this is seriously strange. In a great way._ Wooyoung remained perplexed at the turn of events, almost scared that he'd wake up from the delightful illusion at any moment. As if Yeosang had read his thoughts, he didn’t waste any time to shatter the newfound rising optimism. 

“Don’t get too comfortable though. This doesn’t mean we’re friends. It just means that we’ll interact civilly whenever it’s needed.” The wizard glanced at him from the corner of his eye. “And now get off my bed.”

Wooyoung sighed. “Fine. One step at a time.” He left Yeosang’s side and was about to go do his own thing, pulling out his pouch of energy stones with the intent of manifesting some blessed magic for the upcoming collaboration with his partner that shockingly _would_ be happening after all. He poured the colorful array of pebbles on his desk, taking a seat and closing his eyes, when he was pulled out of his concentration by Yeosang’s voice.

“Umm… What is it you’re always doing with those stones?”, came the audibly uncertain inquiry and it took Wooyoung a moment to process that Yeosang was outwardly showing interest in his activities. He turned back around, finding the wizard watching him with genuine curiosity. 

_The whiplash I’m getting from his constant mood swings is undeniably exhausting._ As intense as the whiplash was, Wooyoung wouldn’t deny Yeosang any request for more communicative exchange. “I’m channeling my own magic and adjusting it to the stones’ vibes. They’re specifically crafted, carrying positive energies engraved by light magic, each infused with one of the natural elements. With their powers, I’m able to cast and manifest simple yet effective spells to help me with numerous activities in my daily life, depending on what I’m focusing on”, he explained happily.

Yeosang slowly got up and joined Wooyoung at his desk. “As far as I know, we don’t have anything similar to that in the realm of shadows. We don’t interact with spirits or elements in their pure form, especially not for influencing our daily lives. The only energy we need for anything has to come out of our own core and the only boosters we accept are ones that have been created under specifically licit conditions.” He put a hand on his chin, fairly intrigued and scrutinizing the stones. “May I take a closer look at one of them?”, he asked, finding Wooyoung’s amazed gaze fixed on his side profile and hurriedly adding, “I’m merely interested in this from a scientific point of view. Nothing more.” 

_Of course you are_ , Wooyoung thought, amused by how the wizard had deemed it necessary to justify his enthusiasm. “Sure, go ahead”, he gave permission, scooting over and making more space. “You might want to get your chair.” 

Yeosang didn’t say anything, moving his hand decidedly to make his chair float over from the other side of the room, placing it next to Wooyoung’s. When he decisively picked up one of the pebbles - the dark blue one, infused with the water element and characteristic in its calming abilities -, Wooyoung felt the desire to keep their conversation going. “You don’t have these things in the West? Are they too plain and insignificant for sophisticated witches?”

Yeosang ran his fingers over the tiny stone’s smooth surface. “Perhaps. These are indeed incomplex and crafted without much precision”, he mused, Wooyoung swallowing down his urge to interrupt him right there. “But it is also generally prohibited to try and enhance your performance through such means. Witches are allowed to take potions for that at most, if needed.”

“What’s the difference then? Enhancers are enhancers”, Wooyoung threw in, not seeing any logic in the concept. Why should it be forbidden to acquire help from the potentially benevolent magic around you? And why should _potions_ of all things pose the exception?

“No, they’re not. The subject of potions has been owned and become most advanced in the hands of talented witches and wizards for centuries. The practice of brewing various concoctions has an almost traditional aspect to it for us. That’s why it is always appreciated to take pride in and use your creations”, Yeosang elaborated. “Fairies are way less strict about these things, often more lax in the execution of different spells and manifestations, including their connection with spirits, as can be observed well with these stones alone. If a witch were to make use of such strategies for themselves or dare take advantage of spirits alike, it would be heavily frowned upon and in the long run, judged harshly.”

Wooyoung couldn’t disagree with that. It was true that there weren’t many rules and laws to be obeyed in the realm of light in regards to practicing magic. _Light_ magic, went unsaid. As long as you stayed true to your principles, magic and its practice became something personal and no one would question you about it unless you were comfortable with it. For witches, it was apparently the opposite, duty and stern rules coming before anything else. There was nothing such as real privacy for them in following their magical pursuits, going as far as not even allowing them to heighten their abilities through subtle and casual means.

“Your lives must be… tough. So many rules to abide by, no actual freedom in what to make out of your magic...”, Wooyoung trailed off, distracted by Yeosang forming a little circle out of the stones.

“It is how it is. As a witch, you grow up with those regulations. You don’t get to question them, they’re absolute. And should you not accommodate them, you’re quick to get exiled”, the wizard confirmed and it made Wooyoung feel uneasy how resigned he sounded. Yeosang didn’t know anything else besides the constant pressure of conforming to a society that would exclude him at the smallest mistake. Suddenly his attitude - also labeling Wooyoung as _flighty_ so many days ago - and how he kept up a guarded mask consistently made lots of sense. In a saddening way. 

“I don’t want your compassion. I'm used to this”, the wizard remarked, seemingly reading Wooyoung’s mind again. 

_How does he keep doing that?_ Wooyoung shook his head. “I’m not pitying you. All of this is just so different from everything _I’m_ used to. I understand you a bit better now.”

Yeosang froze in the middle of arranging another formation of the pebbles. _Got him there._

“I… I guess that’s a good thing”, he muttered, avoiding Wooyoung’s piercing stare. “How do _you_ live then, without a fixed order controlling any of your actions?”

A smile crept onto Wooyoung’s lips, finally convinced that whatever he was experiencing right now wasn’t a dream. He and Yeosang were _bonding_ , about things that they should’ve gone over already for their first partner assignment. The purple flower on his wrist was emanating a dim warmth along his skin. _Better late than never._

Wooyoung grabbed one of the stones himself, white and shimmering with a glittery sheen. _Liberty. Purity. Healing. Perfect for mending the cracks in our relationship._

Yeosang’s eyes chased the movement, ultimately landing on Wooyoung’s face and leading to him commencing his own story.

“Let me enlighten you.”

~*~

“Congrats, partner. We aced that potions task, as predicted”, Hongjoong said merrily. “Maybe there’s truly more to your personality than being an aggravating snob.”

Seonghwa gave him a sarcastic grin. “Says the right person.”

They’d just come out of their potions class, the week having passed quickly and without any further complications. Their professor had been very satisfied with their result for the second assignment, praising their detailed and thoughtful work greatly. It couldn’t have gone any better. Seonghwa was battling his disbelief about the lucky turn their situation had taken, just like that. 

_When we aren’t fighting, we make an excellent team_ , he had to admit, but only inwardly. He wasn’t ready to actually tell Hongjoong that.

This was the first time the both of them had walked out together from a joint class, and it had been quite hilarious to see both Yeosang’s and Wooyoung’s wide eyes following them from their own spot at one of the other laboratory banks. At least those two had been able to sort out their main issues, lessening the painfully awkward atmosphere tremendously. Seonghwa was certainly glad for Yeosang, hoping that Wooyoung wouldn’t pull anything to ruin it all.

“What do you think they have in store next?”, Hongjoong let his thoughts return to reality. 

“Honestly, I have no idea”, Seonghwa replied. _But somehow I’m not even worried anymore._ That alone spoke volumes about how comparably far they’d come as a duo, despite not even having properly discussed their problematic past. Yet. 

The day would surely come, it was inevitable in the end - but for now, Seonghwa allowed himself to indulge in the amiable and easy-going atmosphere as long as it lasted. 

“We’ll find out soon enough. I have to prepare some homework now before _fairy literature_ destroys me, so I’m going back to my room”, Hongjoong sighed, both of them reaching a staircase and coming to a halt. 

“ _Fairy literature_? Sounds fascinating”, Seonghwa said, realizing belatedly that he hadn’t meant to vocalize the thought out loud. His mouth was somehow getting increasingly faster than his mind. He saw a faintly surprised - pleasantly so - expression flashing over Hongjoong’s face, but he simply shrugged. “It is, more or less.” He took in a short breath. “Mingi told me you also have a subject like that - _witch literature_?”

“Yes. Rather dry, but important. And sometimes intriguing.”

“I’ve read one book by a witch author. It was about music”, Hongjoong mused. “What was it? _Bewitching sounds_ …”

“... _and enchanted chorals_ ”, Seonghwa completed the title effortlessly when the fairy struggled to remember. “That’s a true classic. I’ve read it too”, he added, gaining a look of appreciation in turn. 

“It’s a neat book”, Hongjoong commended and Seonghwa could only agree, subconsciously enjoying the revelation of the fairy enjoying something made by a _witch_ \- about their strongest bonding topic no less. They kept talking about the decently entertaining book for a while before their conversation came to a halt, fading out naturally and _peacefully_.

“Have fun with your homework”, Seonghwa offered as a means of goodbye and after thanking him - now, _that_ felt extraordinarily surreal -, something almost shy flickered over Hongjoong’s features. “See you tomorrow in history?”

Seonghwa totally wasn’t thinking about how this more quiet and temperate side of the fairy was affecting him in unforeseen ways. Their whole exchange now had been sufficiently bewildering. 

“Yeah. Until then”, he nodded, Hongjoong mirroring him before making his way off into another direction than Seonghwa would have to go. He stood in his spot awkwardly for a few more seconds, interrupted when Yeosang joined him with Wooyoung in tow, who briskly made his way towards Hongjoong though, trying to catch up to his friend.

“ _What_ was that?”, Yeosang inquired, astonishment laced in his tone. “One successful assignment and suddenly all your differences are forgotten? Just like that?”

Seonghwa let out an airy laugh. “First of all, this is the second task we solved splendidly, unlike you and _someone_ else.” Yeosang rolled his eyes at the statement. “And in addition to that, I’m not going to make things worse again as long as he doesn’t give me a valid reason to, because why would I? I don’t particularly enjoy having to deal with unnecessary antagonism and much prefer discoursing about our shared interests instead.”

“Spoken like a true man of honor and intellect”, came a third voice, Mingi entering the picture, having sneaked up on him and Yeosang. 

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you’ve been off learning about familiars mere minutes ago?”, Yeosang questioned.

“I was, but they let us go earlier, and I thought why not hang out with you two for the break, as it’s been a while”, Mingi shrugged, giving them a smile. He was right with what he said - they hadn’t been able to spend time together in their usual constellation in very long, if one didn’t count their mostly regular breakfast and dinner encounters. The last time all four of them had gathered and hung out had been on Yeosang’s birthday, holding a modest celebration. It had been great and revitalizing, but it had also led to Seonghwa missing his friends even more these days - especially Mingi and San, both of them occupied with their fairy partners often. Or rather, pretty much the whole time. 

Now that Yeosang had reconciled with Wooyoung as well, he’d probably become less available too. Seonghwa never would’ve thought that he’d find something negative about his single room that way, feeling a certain kind of loneliness creeping in whenever he had time to properly realize and contemplate the silence of constantly being by himself. It made him appreciate Mingi’s sweet offer all the more.

It was a pity that San wasn’t there, but his whereabouts during the day had become mildly dubious in general, to phrase it lightly. Whenever he left them recently, it was always happening in a secretive and vague manner, not a single word uttered about where he’d be going or what he’d be doing. 

And oddly, Seonghwa found himself way less plagued by worries about San’s strange behavior than he would’ve thought - it was as if there was a curtain being pulled over his mind, soothing and lulling him into a state where he forgot about it all minutes after his friend’s every departure. 

Seonghwa had made this discovery, yet he was powerless in confronting or mending it, his brain automatically preventing any further contemplation on the matter. He speculated that it was no different for Mingi and Yeosang. He could only hope that San wasn’t up to anything bad, but he trusted him to deal well with whatever it was. 

Which was also why he focused back on the present instead. “That’s a great idea. Let’s go to the fountains, there are always spots free during the break between classes”, he suggested and they did.

Once they’d settled down, Mingi began his happy chattering. “I’m seriously proud of you two. You managed to overcome the prejudice in the end - it’s gonna go up from here”, he praised, his smile turning so blinding that it rivaled the summer sun burning down on them.

“Perhaps it will get better, but I’ll remain wary when it comes to Wooyoung. I don’t trust him, no matter what he’s going to try to convince me that he’s… _reliable_ ”, Yeosang threw in, arms crossed and deep in thought. 

“Hongjoong and me too. We might get along for now, but that doesn’t mean we’re suddenly friends”, Seonghwa chimed in, feeling the truth in his words regardless of how nicely things were going. It wasn't as easy as he’d like it to be and he had to stay guarded. 

He caught Mingi’s cheerful expression falling minimally. “I guess that’s understandable, one way or another”, he admitted, clearly not actually comprehending the logic but trying for his friends’ sake. “But that’s fine. You’ll learn to understand each other more and more with time and then your troubles will be old tales from the past.”

_I wish that could be true._

Just in that moment, three paper-rolls manifested in front of each of them, sparkling with a misty golden haze and held together with a fancy yellow ribbon. Mingi was frightened the most, nearly falling over as a reaction to the paper appearing before him out of nowhere. “What’s this now?”

Seonghwa determinedly grabbed the roll out of the air, untying the ribbon and unrolling it, Yeosang doing the same. There were some peculiar instructions written on it.

“ _Dear students! The second assignment has passed for almost everyone. This is why you are getting the information for the third task now, at the start of the new week. This time, you will have to create a small-scale joint spell, made of light as well as dark magic. To accomplish that, try and combine your abilities however you see fit - you have free reign about what to do. The sole basic requirement is writing down a fitting formula after figuring something out, so that it will be possible to recast the spell. Hand in your papers to the professor you deem most competent for whichever aspects you will be focusing on. Best of luck!_ ”, he explained out loud, his two friends reading along on their own papers.

Yeosang wasn’t pleased. “A joint… spell? Small-scale?”, he repeated, gears already turning in his head. 

“Seems like it”, Seonghwa muttered, addressing Mingi directly next. “Isn’t this the kind of stuff you do in _neutral magic_? Why did they randomly decide to make everyone do it after all?”

Mingi was just as baffled as him from the way his eyes kept flitting over the words written on the paper roll. “It is indeed the essence of what we’re studying in that subject, yet it’s not the exact same. Similar but different - they want us to make something that connects light and dark, meaning that it has to supplement, not cancel each other out to become neutral.”

“That sounds complicated. Where do we even begin with such a generalized instruction?”, Yeosang complained, Seonghwa facing the same struggle on the inside. What was he supposed to create with Hongjoong? He had absolutely no idea. 

Of course Mingi recovered smoothly from his initial puzzlement. “Yunho and I will figure something out. We’re both creative geniuses that won’t be troubled by something like this. Much less with the experience we’ve gained through our lessons in neutral magic”, he declared, radiating an optimism that made envy rise within Seonghwa. Mingi and Yunho were so connected with each other, that they basically didn’t have to be distressed at all about working through several tasks together. Seonghwa could only dream of such a connection - did he even _want_ that? With Hongjoong of all people? 

_Yes_ , came the unnervingly persistent voice from the back of his mind, sounding suspiciously like the fairy himself. 

_No_ , countered the rational side of his brain, assuring him that everything was enough as it was now and that he shouldn’t get any closer, no matter the circumstances.

“I have no clue what to do”, he said miserably, Mingi putting an empathetic hand on his shoulder. “Hey, don’t give up! As far as I have gotten to know Hongjoong, he’s smart about lots of things. I bet that he's brooding about the same things as you, which means you'll just have to prove that each of those concerns is unfounded. I’m sure he’ll collaborate with you then and that you’ll create something amazing as a result.”

Seonghwa appreciated Mingi’s attempt to cheer him up, but he still had a hard time believing him. “How are you doing it? Cooperating in such an uncomplicated way, I mean? What’s your secret?”, he asked, looking at Mingi with hopeful eyes. 

The latter gave him an encouraging grin, sympathy shining through in his gaze. “Seonghwa, you’re overthinking. There is no secret. The one thing I’m doing is going with the flow, adjusting to whatever challenge presents itself and knowing Yunho feels similarly - which is why interacting with him comes intuitively. There’s no strategy behind it.”

“No strategy…”, Seonghwa echoed, reflecting on the callout of his overthinking, because that was indeed the case. Unfortunately.

“No strategy. Just the heat of the moment”, Mingi hummed, patting Seonghwa’s shoulder.

“Now you’re making it sound weird”, Yeosang remarked, clutching his paper roll between his fingers and squinting at Mingi who just winked at him mischievously. 

Seonghwa’s confusing swirl of tangled thoughts revolving around his emotions in regards to Hongjoong came back alive in a storm of unbidden mental images. He groaned, hiding his face in his hands. “That was _not_ helpful, Yeosang.”

Mingi laughed loudly while Yeosang had the decency of reddening slightly, not saying anything else. 

This was going to be a wild ride. They’d been here for roughly a month and Seonghwa had gotten his whole world and mindset turned upside-down. 

Either it was the enchanted magic of the sea castle messing with his head, as the inexplicable drowsiness fogging over his thoughts sometimes was indicating - not to mention that he could swear that the place was haunted, since he was sensing presences and spiritual energies in its hallways regularly that should _not_ be there. 

Or he was _overthinking_ and it was simply the fairies with their irritatingly soft and gentle auras, making him question his principles and testing his patience on a daily basis. 

Whatever may turn out to be the cause, Seonghwa could be confident of one thing - he had changed forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only took 40k words for Woosang to finally get it together (kinda), but they did it and things are indeed getting better from now on. Who's excited for the joint spells? :D


	12. XI

Yeosang was facing several dilemmas at once.

One: his homework for _witch literature_ wasn’t done and he had two days left to finish it. 

Two: admittedly, the first struggle was quite unlike him and not something he’d normally have to deal with, but the sole root of it laid in this second point, the threat of the uncertain third assignment looming over his head. 

And last but not least, three: he _did_ have an idea how to handle it, but that would require him talking to his roommate and project partner - a feat that wasn’t as easy to accomplish as one might expect, even if they’d finally found a common ground. 

Yeosang had strong difficulties in forming his actions while communicating with Wooyoung. While they’d been fighting with each other or not talking at all, Yeosang had known how to act, rejection coming to him plainly and consistently. But now they were stuck in some kind of bumbling limbo of a truce, not actively antagonizing each other but also not making any extra effort to deepen their relationship past the point of a strictly professional one. At least if one didn’t count that first evening after their reconciliation where Yeosang had let more information slip than was probably good for him. 

Which was why Yeosang wasn’t sure how to properly tell Wooyoung about his suggestion without making a fool out of himself - he only knew how to _not_ get along with the fairy, the opposite turning out to be a major problem.

Yeosang’s idea revolved around the strange, supposedly cursed vine Seonghwa had mentioned to him, thinking he might know more about it. Unfortunately he didn’t, but he’d spent some time in the library, trying to find something that seemed similar and had been remotely successful. 

There were reports about cursed plants and how they could negatively interfere with their environment, mostly found in the West and occasionally in the East, near the border. Yeosang knew better than anyone else that it was strenuous to cultivate plants in the realm of shadows, for their fragility and susceptibility to dark magic made it demanding to keep them flourishing. One impaired flower was enough for the rest of your garden to get messed up, routinely leading to the radical strategy of draining it all to avoid further complications and banish the cursed energy thoroughly.

It was this strategy that had inspired some creativity within Yeosang, regarding the third partner task. Similar to what the fairies had done upon their arrival at the sea castle on the very first evening, draining the forest of its life, Yeosang wanted to try and create a spell that would drain malevolent flora while leaving the healthy greenery alone, freeing it of the unwanted occupation in the process. To him it appeared possible, that this way they could combine their abilities of dark and light magic - the former to drain energy and the latter for making it affect cursed areas and parts exclusively. It sounded like an impeccable plan in Yeosang’s head. All that was left was convincing Wooyoung of pulling it off. 

_Easier said than done._

His thoughts were digressing, the book before him lying opened on his desk before him uselessly, his eyes channeling in on the quivering flame of the candle shedding light on the pages. It was late in the evening, the day basically over. Wooyoung hadn’t returned yet. Yeosang had a striking suspicion that he was hanging out with either Hongjoong or Yunho, potentially San and Mingi as well. 

He felt a minor ache in his chest at the prospect of his friends preferring the fairies’ company more than his. At the same time he wished to be part of their group too, but he liked to suppress that particular notion, lingering in denial about his evident loneliness. Not even Seonghwa was available this evening, claiming how he had something important to tend to as well. 

Yeosang sighed, shutting the book swiftly, the candle next to it bending its flame strongly at the small gust. And just in that moment, the door to his room opened, none other than Wooyoung coming in. Yeosang turned around, putting on a neutral expression.

“Hey, you’re still working?”, the fairy said as a way of greeting, walking over to his bed and not even waiting for a response. “Sorry for being late, we kept talking longer than usual. Yunho told us about what he and Mingi are planning to make for the next assignment. Some fancy hourglass or something”, he rambled, snapping his fingers casually to magically light up the lamps and candles around his area of the room.

Yeosang was watching him silently, stuck on the fact that Wooyoung had just apologized to him for returning late. “Why are you apologizing?”, he inquired, his mouth faster and less careful than his brain trying to stop him from asking that out loud.

Wooyoung gave him a puzzled look, taking a while to figure out what Yeosang was referring to. “Oh, nothing in particular, really. It’s just…”, he paused, putting his hands to his hips and biting his lip. “You’re… you’re always alone, either here or in the library. Occasionally you’re together with Seonghwa, but most of the time you’re by yourself and it’s a bit…” The fairy was obviously struggling to finish his sentence, probably because he absolutely didn’t intend to offend Yeosang. With how it was already clear in which direction this was going, it was a little late for that though. “Pathetic?”, Yeosang offered, voice emotionless. 

Wooyoung’s eyes widened in panic. “ _No_! That’s not what I wanted to say, at all. It’s more that I feel bad for you sometimes, isolated while I’m away and hanging out with the others.”

Yeosang ignored the subtle, happy jump his heart gave at the admission. It was something a friend would say, concerned and caring. And it scared him for that exact reason. 

Opening up to Wooyoung would also include becoming more vulnerable and that had always been a sensitive issue for Yeosang. While his heart was screaming to give their partnership a real chance, his mind was persistently ringing countless alarm bells in consequence with everything that could go wrong and backfire to hurt him in the end. Holding someone dear and them holding you dear in turn was as enticing as it was frightening.

“You don’t need to worry about me because of that. I’m alright with how things are and you can stay away the whole night for all I care”, Yeosang dismissed the matter effectively, but unsurprisingly - he’d gotten to know the fairy’s character well until now - Wooyoung didn’t buy it. 

“And _you_ don’t need to continuously put up your tough facade with me any longer”, the fairy countered, stepping a bit closer and with a frustrated edge in his tone. “I won’t exploit your weaknesses or whatever it is you’re afraid about. I’m not one of those apparently cold and heartless people you’ve been surrounded with all your life.”

“... I know”, Yeosang responded after some contemplation. “But it’s not something I can simply switch off from one moment to the next.”

Wooyoung cleared his throat. “I get that, which is why I wanna try and make things more comfortable for you. Next time we’ll go to spend some time with both of our friends, what do you say? Mingi and San will be there and maybe you could even convince Seonghwa?”

Seonghwa would probably rather eat his broom than join the mismatched group in one of their gatherings. Although, considering how his first, initial reaction to someone mentioning Hongjoong had changed from instant, cold contempt to nervous and insecure stuttering these days, Yeosang couldn’t be so sure about that anymore. 

He blinked up at his roommate - his roommate who wanted to _ease_ his worries, intensifying his inner struggle tenfold. “Didn’t you hear what I said earlier?”

Wooyoung leaned in, undeterred, so that Yeosang felt a sense of dejá vù creeping up on him. “Who are you even trying to fool?”

 _Myself_ , Yeosang thought immediately, the sudden realization hitting harder than expected. “No one”, was what he actually said, holding the fairy's piercing gaze. “Why should I join you? So that I can listen to some highly interesting gushing about hourglasses too?”

Wooyoung retreated at that, letting out a defeated breath. “At least _they_ have a plan on what to do, unlike us”, he moped and Yeosang pretended not to be affected by the sulky quality of his tone. Instead he saw his chance and took it by the neck.

“About that - I have a proposal”, he began, pleased when Wooyoung instantly refocused on him with shining eyes. “Seonghwa told me about a very worrisome vine that he and Hongjoong found in the forest while searching for a herb for their potions assignment. He described it as quite sinister and ominous.” 

He stopped talking upon Wooyoung nodding enthusiastically. “Yes, Hongjoong spoke to me about it as well. He thought I’d be more fit to deal with it, knowing lots of stuff about botany… along with you.” He added the last part after a moment of hesitation. 

_Right, botany. Revolving around our shared and developed abilities._

Yeosang didn’t pay more attention to this last statement, merely being grateful for the news, meaning he wouldn’t have to explain anything more on the basics. “I want to get rid of this vine. Preferably with a spell consisting of light and dark components alike”, he went on, Wooyoung listening intently. “Do you remember the draining magic from the first evening, pulling the water out of the plants? Well, what if we reformed a spell like that to only make it affect things that appear harmful to their surroundings, taking away their energy?” 

He held his breath after finishing, curious about Wooyoung’s opinion. After a few seconds of pensive quiet, the fairy voiced his thoughts. “That’s… That’s a _brilliant_ idea!”, he exclaimed, smiling brightly and Yeosang couldn’t deny the slight flutter of his heartbeat at the sight. “Why didn’t I think of that too? It’s an amazing solution for us, bringing in a botanical aspect and making it possible to combine our respective powers ideally”, Wooyoung went on, humming appreciatively and visibly getting his own imagination to work regarding the matter. 

“I’m glad you agree with it”, Yeosang said calmly, feigning nonchalance when inwardly he was celebrating in joy. His seemingly relaxed aura was broken into pieces moments later though when Wooyoung ended up in front of him once again, grabbing his left hand unceremoniously with his own, exposing the green flower on Yeosang’s wrist, matching the purple one on his own. 

“Good job partner.” He let their hands separate and drop promptly, but Yeosang didn’t miss the mischievous ghost of a smirk flash over his features. It was the same expression he’d shown during the incident with the _Hibi_ powder - the face he made whenever he successfully caught Yeosang off-guard and he wasn’t able to do anything against it.

 _He’s so annoying._ The thought came almost naturally, but it lacked so much of the bite it had originally held, that Yeosang didn’t even find himself actually angered by the fairy’s action. 

“Tomorrow, then?”, he asked, pretending that nothing had happened right now. He wouldn’t _thank_ Wooyoung for the compliment. He knew he was smart after all. He also knew that Wooyoung was reading his mind from his reaction alone, the glint in his eyes speaking for itself.

“Tomorrow”, he confirmed. 

Yeosang was content with that, deciding to clarify just one more thing. “For the record, I _do_ spend time with my friends regularly. We’ve just celebrated my birthday.”

Wooyoung returned to being serious quickly. “It was your birthday? When?”, he asked, evidently stunned.

“June 15th.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Yeosang gave him a pointed look. “We weren’t on… favorable terms then.”

Wooyoung groaned. “We weren’t, but _still_. In fact, I remember this being the first question on the questionnaire of the first assignment. I could’ve known if you’d cooperated”, he pouted, before grabbing Yeosang’s hand _again_ and shaking it sincerely. “Congratulations. Belatedly.”

Now it was Yeosang being momentarily stunned. “Thanks?” 

It came out like an inquiry more than a term of gratitude and it earned him another giggle from Wooyoung. “My birthday is on November 26th, by the way.”

Yeosang abruptly disconnected their hands. “Did I ask?”

Wooyoung stepped back. “I know that you asked in your _heart_ ”, he said, full of conviction. 

Yeosang didn’t answer. Because perhaps he did.

Perhaps... he should give this - whatever it might entail - a chance. And he’d start by remembering this precise date.

~*~

Hongjoong was currently willing his hands to stop sweating. It wasn’t working out very well. _Why am I even anxious? I don’t have any reason to be._

Or maybe he had. 

He was on the way to Seonghwa’s room, following an invitation by the wizard who had come up to him after dinner, asking if he’d be free this evening - solely to work on figuring something out for their third assignment, of course. 

At first Hongjoong had declined, already having scheduled a hangout with Yunho and Wooyoung, but the disappointed face Seonghwa had given him had managed to change his mind. So, after having a relaxing talk with his two friends in Yunho’s room - San had gone to study with Mingi in the meantime, conclusively switching rooms -, Hongjoong excused himself minutes after Wooyoung had left as well. He hadn’t told either of the two about his plans, Mingi being the only one who knew, being his roommate and Hongjoong not wanting to worry him unnecessarily. 

Seonghwa had explained the route to his room to Hongjoong and it wasn’t that far away from his own, one floor below and located in the right castle-wing rather than the middle one. He couldn’t believe how lucky the wizard was for having a whole room for himself, able to bask in unlimited privacy and no one bothering him. Mingi had grown on Hongjoong over the past weeks, but sometimes it remained a challenge to keep up with his loud antics and energetic chattering. Some quiet would be nice for sure. 

He walked through the empty and dimly lit hallways in determined strides, passing by the high windows looking out into the courtyard. It was deepest night outside, the sun long gone and having made space for twinkling stars. Hongjoong allowed himself a minute of staring out and up at the rich black sky, sprinkled with thousands of lights, admiring its beauty. Summer nights were an extraordinary kind of magnificent.

He pulled away eventually and it didn't take him long then to reach Seonghwa's door. At least he hoped it was the correct one. He raised a hesitant fist, knocking twice before he could turn around on the spot and run away. _Nothing will happen._

There was the possibility of the wizard having planned some kind of trap for him or something of the kind, but Hongjoong liked to believe that they had left such antics behind them by now, not wanting to dwell on them. He wasn't even able to, as when the door swung open, he was faced with none other than Seonghwa, not dressed in his usual, pristine and refined robes, but comfortable night clothes. His hair wasn't parted in its neat style either, falling over his forehead messily.

Hongjoong felt his mouth going dry at the unexpected sight, his traitorous mind blanking out before pouring counterproductive thoughts of appreciation over him about how _soft_ the wizard looked. It was such a weird and severe contrast to the distinct image of him that Hongjoong had formed in his head, that he couldn't help being temporarily awestruck. 

He swallowed hard, just as Seonghwa greeted him with the vaguely amused words, "Took you long enough." He moved aside, gesturing for Hongjoong to enter and he did, stiffly so. "Yeah, we lost track of the time", he replied, hating how high-strung his voice sounded. 

_Calm down. Everything's cool_ , he tried placating his nerves, taking in the wizard's room to distract himself. It was a bit smaller than his and Mingi's, but with lots of free space due to containing one bed and desk instead of two, as well as half the amount of any other piece of furniture. The bed itself was big, wide and with rounded edges, even possessing curtains to close around it. The longest wall of the room was lined with four pretty windows, and when Hongjoong approached one of them to peek outside, he discovered that they were looking right towards the forest beginning adjacent to the castle's right side. 

"Lovely view", he commented, turning back around to find Seonghwa watching him, proceeding to join him at the window. "It's not bad. Nicely secluded", he agreed. “An outright antithesis to my academy or even my parents’ home in the middle of the city.”

There was no hidden purpose behind Seonghwa relaying that kind of personal information to Hongjoong - he just did it willingly. Hongjoong wouldn’t let the opportunity go to waste.

“What are your cities like? How do you live?”, he showed his genuine interest. He’d already found out some stuff about the West during their first task, Seonghwa giving him meagerly sufficient explanations, so perhaps they could build up on that now.

“They’re densely populated, not only by witches but also other, mostly nocturnal beings like vampires and were-shifters. The obsidian city guarantees that we never truly get to have proper daylight, making it a convenient environment for them that way. Our academy and my home are both located in the capital, the center of all the important hustle and bustle.”

Hongjoong hummed. “You mentioned that back then. Having no actual daylight still sounds strange to me.”

Seonghwa shrugged. “We’re used to it. With the help of our magical technologies, we’re able to create any illumination we might need without trouble anyway.”

“No wonder you’re all so pale. The summer sun here must make you suffer.”

“It’s a welcome change. For me personally, that is.”

“In the East we have a regular day and night cycle like this too. Our towns may not be as industrialized and thriving as yours, but they have their own charm. You should definitely see them for yourself one day.” 

The suggestion was completely serious on Hongjoong’s part and he glanced at Seonghwa to see his reaction, finding the wizard smiling vaguely. “Overflowing with _blessed_ energies, no doubt."

"You'd drown in them where I'm from. Nature spirits everywhere and no darkness to be found."

"Well, there’s always the possibility of my father sending me to your realm on a diplomatic mission one day.”

Hongjoong picked up on that. “What does your father do?”

“He’s part of one of the three high councils - the witches and wizards who are basically ruling the West, taking care of all kinds of different matters”, Seonghwa explained and Hongjoong’s eyes widened. 

“That’s a… _high_ position.” 

Something unreadable flickered over Seonghwa's face. “It is. A position that isn’t necessarily purely advantageous though.”

It was a delicate topic, Hongjoong realized that much. He stayed silent, regarding Seonghwa next to him and trying to understand him. Merely finding out that Seonghwa’s family was apparently living a comparably high-prestige life explained a lot about his behavior and personality on the surface, giving insights to his origins. There was so much about him that Hongjoong didn’t know yet and the more was revealed to him, the more he felt his opinion of the wizard shifting, in a direction that was anything but dismissive - more the opposite, inquisitive and with a motivation to unravel his secrets. 

While Hongjoong was stuck in his musings, Seonghwa didn't give any potential awkward silence the chance to settle over them after dropping his statement, continuing right away with what they actually should be discussing. "So, about that joint spell - do you have any ideas?" 

Hongjoong accepted the subject change without complaint and shook his head sheepishly. "Not really. I'm pretty lost with it all." 

"That makes two of us", Seonghwa muttered, going over to his desk and snatching one of the books stacked on it. "That's why I loaned some books from the library this afternoon, all somehow connected with light and dark magic in combination or with a special focus on one of them and possibly unusual aspects."

Hongjoong sauntered over and let his fingers glide over the spines, examining their titles, Seonghwa elaborating further. "I thought that it would be useful if we went over these, brainstorming and noting down stuff that seems promising. That has to lead us somewhere, doesn't it?" 

Hongjoong nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's get started then." He snatched the tome with the title _Peculiar Practices in the Arts of Light Magic_ , sitting down on the carpet covering the floor with crossed legs, undeniably intrigued and ready to dive into the material. 

"Great", Seonghwa remarked, taking the rest of the books and kneeling on the ground opposite of Hongjoong. He fanned out the books, directing several blank sheets of paper and two pens over afterwards, the tools floating over from the drawers of his desk. Hongjoong caught one of each from the air.

Thus commenced their searching for a helpful hint in what to create for their next collaboration. The quiet wasn’t awkward any longer, each fixated on their respective books and deeply into their work. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but Hongjoong was pleasantly surprised, when he encountered something that seemed suitable after a while. “Hey, uh…”, he began in an effort to get Seonghwa’s attention. The wizard looked up from what he’d just been writing and Hongjoong took it as a cue to carry on. “Do you remember the balls of light from the first evening? The ones the witches summoned as a kind of welcoming present for the fairies?”

“Yes. What about them?” Seonghwa was intrigued.

“It says here that there exists another version of them - one infused with a darker layer, more like a _shadow_ ball. Maybe we could try and… make something like that. Essentially light in its basic structure, but glowing in a more subdued shine. It’s said to have been common mainly during the earlier magical c-congresses of witches and fairies, creating a balanced atmosphere”, Hongjoong surmised, unintentionally stumbling over a certain word and relieved to see that Seonghwa hadn’t noticed, not at all thrown off by the spell idea. “Interesting approach. We can work with that.” 

An ambitious gleam entered his gaze when Hongjoong let him read over the page as well, and he was back to scribbling down notes on his papers furiously. “The formulas vary, so we just gotta think of an appropriate one that’s within our power - we both know the spell for the contained lightballs, but I don’t assume you’re familiar with any shadow magic. So I’d say we split it into writing down the basics for our respective strengths and then try to combine our findings, so that they are able to complement each other.”

Hongjoong hated to admit how that sounded like their best course of action to take right now. “Fine by me”, he agreed, taking up his own pen as well and mentally going through a list of spell formulas he’d already learned. Which could potentially be beneficial to add to the one for the lightballs to make it cooperate well with the shadow component? A few possibilities came to mind, and Hongjoong wrote them all down. 

Seonghwa was pretty much mirroring him, both of them sketching down various spell formations and writings, partially inspired by the book’s content, partially fueled by their own creativity. The papers filled more and more and were soon being scattered over the whole carpet. 

This time, there might as well have been an hour passing in concentrated silence, because when Seonghwa victoriously held up one of his sheets after ages, claiming that it had to be the solution, a brief look at the ancient clock in the corner told Hongjoong that it was half past 1 in the morning. 

_Getting up in the morning will be fun. But it’s gonna be worth it._

“I think I got it too”, Hongjoong mumbled, scrutinizing what he’d scrawled over the many pages before him, forming a combination of them with his inner eye and convinced that he’d managed to find a fitting set-up. 

“Let’s try it out”, Seonghwa suggested eagerly, changing his seating position and moving his hands in the required motions. Hongjoong followed his example, imagining his own spell figure and reciting the associated incantation. Their chanting blended together and eventually Hongjoong felt the prickling aura of the magic transmitting between them. 

_It’s working_ , he thought, giddy with excitement. There was nothing more rewarding than having your efforts repaid by the magic adjusting to your wishes with the help of an organized spell. 

The buzzing of energy gained intensity and mere seconds later Hongjoong saw a tiny ball of light manifesting, right in the middle and growing slowly. Its unspectacular, white glow got overshadowed - literally - right when it had reached a small to medium size. Tendrils of darkness swished over the luminous surface before encasing and swallowing the light as a whole, dimming the illumination noticeably, but not wholly. 

The shadows weighed down on the light surprisingly hard, so that Hongjoong found himself struggling slightly to keep his manifestation stable. Seonghwa had detected his trouble, as he was quick to react by gesturing for Hongjoong to come closer. 

“I’ll reduce the amount”, he promised and Hongjoong joined him in holding his hands on the edge of the shadow ball, the magic vibrating against his palms. He could feel Seonghwa lessening the pressure of the dark magic and simultaneously sending his own bout of support, making it more comfortable for Hongjoong to keep up the hold, but it couldn’t be maintained for long. When Seonghwa increased his powers a second time, the struggle returned and Hongjoong couldn’t help but gasp, afraid to be overwhelmed by the darkness. 

_This won’t work like that._

He didn’t think twice about reaching around the shadow ball to grab the wizard’s hands with his own, connecting their flows of magic physically. It enabled them to read the other’s energy level directly and accurately, Seonghwa finally adjusting to Hongjoong’s correctly with its help. They got closer, fingers intertwining instinctively. Hongjoong breathed out a sigh of relief at the establishment of an equilibrium, focusing on the task at hand once more and observing how their spells interweaved steadily, resulting in a mysteriously glowing and dark ball of pure magic - light and dark, mixed in their truest forms. 

Hongjoong felt Seonghwa squeezing his hands, their eyes finding each other over their successful joint creation, both with happy smiles appearing on their faces. _We made it._

After keeping the spell strong for another ten seconds or so, they gradually pulled back their energies, dissolving the shadow ball bit by bit with controlled concentration. When all that was left of the manifestation was a little spark, Hongjoong took it on himself to make it fully disappear. He was extremely satisfied with the accomplishment, and it was precisely that satisfaction which had diverted him from noticing just how close he and Seonghwa had gotten during the ordeal.

He lifted his eyes from the now empty spot where the shadow ball had been and found Seonghwa already staring at him, most likely sharing the realization, as his cheerful smile slowly faded, much like Hongjoong’s. Their knees were barely touching, hands still connected and fingers tangled. 

Hongjoong was suddenly hyper-aware of how warm the wizard’s skin felt against his own. He was also aware of the blush rising to his cheeks rapidly, getting even worse when he saw the same thing happening to Seonghwa. 

None of them said a word, the air heavy not with merged magic this time, but a specific kind of tension. Hongjoong’s thoughts were running a mile a minute, his heartbeat accelerating and everything he saw was Seonghwa’s beautiful face, mellow and muted through being illuminated by the candlelights around them. It was similar to what had happened in the forest, but somehow, with the privacy and tranquility of the night surrounding them, it felt so much more intimate.

Hongjoong genuinely didn’t know whether to be grateful or feel let down when Seonghwa regained his composure, disentangling their fingers hastily and standing up without further ado, putting some distance between them. 

The wizard cleared his throat. “Good job. We should hand in our solution as soon as possible - I’m gonna clean up here and write down the proper formula. Leave it to me”, he said, pretending not to be as affected by the situation as he obviously was. 

Hongjoong was left on the ground, taking a moment to return to reality, before jumping up. “Y-Yeah, that was g-great. Thank you.” The stutter was embarrassing, but whatever had just transpired between them had been even worse, so he forced himself to not feel stupid. “I-I’ll go then and leave you to sort things through. It’s quite late.”

Seonghwa wouldn’t look at him. For once, Hongjoong didn’t blame him. “Sure. Good night.” It was curt but it sufficed. Hongjoong really had to get out of this room before he spilled something else that he might regret later on. 

“Good night”, he echoed, rushing out of the room speedily, the heat in his veins hardly simmering down while he was walking through the dark hallways, refusing to acknowledge his racing pulse. 

_What was that?_

Did he even want to know? From their talk at the start to the spellcasting to the scene right at the end - he was experiencing an emotional crisis. So he’d rather _not_ know. Especially taking into account how his attention got caught by the stars again, and that there was only one thought going through his head now. 

_Seonghwa holds all of them in his eyes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet progress everywhere, isn't that great? We're also roughly halfway through the story now, so I hope everyone will stay excited about it.


	13. XII

The next day Yeosang and Wooyoung set out towards the woods with the goal of finding the allegedly dangerous vine and extinguishing it. They met at the castle’s entrance and left right after each of their classes of the day had ended, planning to make use of the rest of the afternoon productively. 

They had just reached the edge of the forest when Yeosang decided that it was time to ask what the fairy was even planning. “Do you know where this thing is located? Shouldn’t we have brought either Seonghwa or Hongjoong with us?”

Wooyoung made a vague hand gesture, not even turning around from where he was walking in front of Yeosang with purposeful strides. “We don’t need their guidance. My heightened senses will pick up on the negative energy right away. I’ll lead us to it in no time”, he promised, confident in his abilities.

Yeosang huffed. “If you say so. Did you bring the materials?” _Materials_ , as in some paper and pens to write down a potential spell formula. Yeosang had entrusted Wooyoung with getting them as a sign of goodwill, leaving his own bag in their room beforehand. He’d been suspicious when he’d encountered the fairy empty-handed as well, claiming that he hadn’t needed anything for his _light magic_ class. But now Yeosang couldn’t help asking. 

“No. We don’t need those either”, Wooyoung countered and Yeosang could feel his irritation rising. “What’s that supposed to mean? Of course we need them, where else will we write down our findings?”, he threw in. 

He got a giggle in response. “Live a little, Yeosang. You’re not gonna drop dead just because you don’t immediately write down what you’ve found. It can wait.”

Yeosang stopped in his tracks, Wooyoung finally facing him upon realizing that his steps came to a halt a few moments later. “Are you mocking me? Me and my work attitude? Because you could use some of it.”

Wooyoung looked at him pointedly, surely thinking that he was overreacting, but Yeosang didn’t care. When he raised a questioning eyebrow, the fairy sighed. It had turned into a constant habit of his around Yeosang. 

“... Sorry. I forgot them”, he admitted, no remorse shining through but it _was_ an apology.

“Be glad I have a good memory”, Yeosang said breezily, moving on to brush past Wooyoung with a bit more force than strictly necessary. “So, where do we go from here?”

He could basically feel the fairy rolling his eyes as the latter joined him at his side. “I’m on it. I could also just leave you here and fly off with my wings, just saying.”

They exchanged a glance filled with crackling tension but didn’t say anything else. Wooyoung went ahead, Yeosang walking slightly behind him.

It took some minutes of wandering around the thicket, Yeosang scolding Wooyoung to keep his attention on the important matters whenever the fairy got intrigued and held up by a particular bush or flower. All the while he had to consciously pretend not to find the sight… adorable. The way Wooyoung took in his environment with open and glittering eyes, always with a smile on his lips and gentle touches, a kind curiosity surrounding him - it was fascinating to Yeosang, so far from everything he knew. It was messing with his heart, making parts of it thaw that had been frozen for years. 

It was scary.

Yeosang stayed studying his partner nonetheless, eventually noticing a mood shift in the fairy. His carefree demeanor tensed up and his eyes were flitting around anxiously. 

“Any clues?”, Yeosang inquired and Wooyoung nodded. “This way”, he muttered, suddenly strongly focused and serious. It was a stark contrast to his usual self, leaving Yeosang mildly puzzled. The fairy hadn’t been lying when he’d agreed to the comparison of him being a box of surprises.

It didn’t take long until Yeosang was able to feel the faint pressure of dark magic as well, a heavy aura weighing on his chest. The noises of nature around them faded into a suffocating stillness and it seemed as if they had entered a different dimension. 

Wooyoung shuddered, his steps becoming slower and Yeosang swiftly caught up to him. Before he could think twice, he put a hand on the fairy’s shoulder. “Are you alright? Is it too much for you?”

Wooyoung looked at him with wide eyes and only then did Yeosang realize what he’d just done out of pure instinct. He quickly withdrew his hand, fighting down a blush. “I-I mean, we don’t have to do this if it makes you ill. Even _I_ don’t feel so well”, he clarified, not very convincingly.

Wooyoung’s befuddled expression turned into a smug grin. “Are you _worried_ about me?”

_Cursed thunder._

“N-No.” The stutter really wasn’t helping.

Wooyoung cooed at him. “I’ll never get tired of this soft side of you. Can’t you let it out more often?” The fairy was clearly relishing in Yeosang’s embarrassed misery. Yeosang hoped that it was merely his brain playing tricks on him by making their partner symbol heat up with a piercing warmth.

“Be quiet. You’re definitely fine if you can keep spouting nonsense like that, so let’s carry on”, he declared, walking on, Wooyoung right behind and mumbling something like, “Sensitive as ever”, under his breath. 

Yeosang ignored him, striving towards the source of dark magic determinedly. He found what they’d been looking for in the middle of the next clearing, clinging onto the tree standing there. It was just as Seonghwa had described to him, an ominous vine with swirls of shadow tendrils weaving around it. Upon getting closer he could see that it wasn’t one vine, but that it had spread into three in total. 

“This is it”, Wooyoung said from Yeosang’s left. He sounded breathless, pressured by the depressingly dark aura. Yeosang consciously held himself back from voicing his worries again, talking against them inwardly. _I’m_ not _concerned about him._

It was working mediocrely and even less when the fairy bent down, fingers outstretched and ready to touch the base of one of the vines. “Wait! You shouldn’t touch it just like that!”, he called out, snatching Wooyoung’s wrist and preventing him from making contact with the evidently malevolent plant. 

“Relax, I wasn’t going to. I simply wanted to read its energy level”, Wooyoung reassured him, letting Yeosang hold onto him though without complaint. “It’s growing fast. Hongjoong told me that it was one, but now there are three. That also explains why I was able to feel their presence from further away than him back then - their aura extended.”

Yeosang nodded, scrutinizing the strange plant himself. “I haven’t seen something like this ever before. It’s infused with so much dark magic, it could originate straight from the obsidian city.”

Wooyoung frowned at him. “From where?”

Of course the fairy didn’t know what he was referring to. “The main source of magic in the West. It’s a chaotic place sealed with numerous wards, drowning in extremely intense amounts of darkness”, he explained. 

Wooyoung hummed. “Sounds about right. Who knows, perhaps that’s where it’s from. The question is, who planted it and why? Here and now?”

Yeosang had a strong suspicion that this had to be connected to the witch-fairy collaboration. As far as he was informed, the sea castle had been abandoned for a century after all, meaning it wouldn’t make sense for something like this to suddenly appear out of nowhere within its adjacent forest. “It’s not a coincidence, that’s for sure.”

He let go of Wooyoung’s wrist, hovering his palms above the vines instead and closing his eyes in concentration. The prickling edge of darkness was pulling at his skin, normally a familiar sensation, yet it felt… _wrong_. 

“From its visuals, it resembles a _Tracta_ vine. They typically grow in symbiosis with trees of their choice - they’re not parasitic”, he could hear Wooyoung mumbling next to him, analyzing the plants thoughtfully. 

Yeosang knew what he was talking about and he had to agree. Vines of the _Tracta_ family were frequently found in woods of any kind, not demanding in their climate conditions and satisfied with exchanging nutrients with their host trees. “It is a _Tracta_ , despite the shadows obscuring its essence”, he confirmed for that reason. “The dark energy is more profound than I’ve ever experienced it. There must be incredibly powerful spellcraft at work.” 

“I don’t suppose any of you witches brought this here to mess with the fairies?”, Wooyoung asked jokingly, obviously not serious but meant to lighten the mood. The problem was that Yeosang was genuinely uncertain whether someone among their rows would be able to create something like this. Solely their teachers came to mind with how professionally and strongly it had been applied, but that seemed impossibly unlikely. There had to be a different cause.

“No. This wasn’t done by any of us”, he said firmly, continuing in the same breath, “We should absolutely get rid of it. I have an idea.”

Wooyoung caught on immediately. “Excellent, I’ve also got my own. Let’s do this, _partner_.” 

Yeosang barely held back the flinch at the last term and how emphatically the fairy had pronounced it. It got his blood boiling - in more ways than one. 

They got to work without further ado, both contemplating which spells to use best for their eventual combination of magic. Yeosang had already formed a pretty distinct vision of what he planned to do, the outline of his part, a formula similar to that of the ordinary draining spell, slightly modified and with a missing key aspect that ideally would be filled in with Wooyoung’s addition. 

“Let me try handling it first”, the latter requested, rubbing his hands. “Sure”, Yeosang said, curious as to what he had in mind. He watched the fairy biting his lip while repeatedly murmuring incantations and trying out different small bouts of magic, pouting when the vines repelled them all. “Basic dispel magic doesn’t disturb it”, he assessed after a while, changing strategies. “Time for something stronger.”

Yeosang observed the streaks of white light Wooyoung was summoning now, layering over and mixing with the shadows dancing around the vines. Once again, it didn’t do anything, the darkness repelling the blessed energy easily and making it burst in a twinkling and disheveled whirl. Wooyoung huffed in frustration, giving the plant a glare and turning to Yeosang. “As much as I hate to admit it, I'm useless by myself in handling this thing. I’ll need your help.”

“I could’ve told you that from the start”, Yeosang remarked drily. _As if some feeble and dainty fairy magic would’ve been able to harm something made and bewitched with such excessive dark magic._ “I’ll use my powers to cast the primary spell and you’ll put your light components into it to complete it. Can you do that?”

“Go ahead”, Wooyoung said. “I’ll join in at the given point.”

They looked at each other for a few more seconds, Yeosang double-checking that the fairy was sincere about his endeavour. When he was more or less convinced of his partner’s determination, he began casting the spell based on the formula he’d prepared. He felt Wooyoung’s eyes on him, keeping track of his every move and word. He tried to not let it bother or distract him too much. 

It didn’t take long for the spell to take effect, his focus shifting to the vines and on draining the life out of them. Considering how they were clinging to the - strangely healthy, apparently not negatively affected - tree, the magic should reach for it as well, seeing as its precision wasn’t well-developed. That’s where Wooyoung had to step in. 

Yeosang was relieved to witness the energy being sucked out of the vines gradually, the darkness fading an ample degree. He kept his outreached hands steady, even when he encountered something like an invisible wall, preventing his own magic from breaking further through the cursed one. 

Wooyoung noticed his struggle and held onto his wrist wordlessly, fingers closing right around the emerald flower. _How convenient._

He could sense a rush of warm, light magic pushing its way through the malevolent power alongside his draining spell, accompanied by the fairy giving a hushed incantation on his side. It passed over the path he had opened, spreading through and proceedingly past the vines, creating a kind of shell around them and effectively shielding the tree, including its roots and the grass on the ground around it. The shell started shrinking, channeling on the vines, piercing them where Yeosang’s draining magic had already weakened them - the cursed power was no longer able to withstand the light, getting torn up by it instead of reflecting it. 

“It’s working”, Wooyoung excitedly whispered and Yeosang hissed at him, “Concentrate. We’re not done yet.” He got a squeeze of his wrist as a form of an answer, making the heat from their partner symbol flare up. This time it wasn’t just his fantasy, but this definitely wasn’t the right time to think about it in more detail.

They both continued infusing the vines with their respective energies, Yeosang draining them and Wooyoung erasing the shadows from their depths while keeping the tree safe. It was rather exhausting, so when the last wisp of black finally disappeared, it left both of them gasping, hands falling with nothing to be heard besides their panting. Yeosang let his gaze travel over the middle vine, indeed unmistakably a _Tracta_ now, its usually vital, red color faded into a dried up and pale pink. It was dead, the malevolent darkness gone with its life. Everything around it was standing proudly, unafflicted. Yeosang was highly pleased.

“We made it!”, Wooyoung squealed happily, facing Yeosang with a beaming smile and lifting his arms into the air. One of them was still holding onto Yeosang’s wrist and for a second he thought the fairy would make an attempt to hug him, but luckily he didn’t upon seeing his unamused expression. 

Yeosang snatched back his hand unceremoniously. “I guess that wasn’t all too bad”, he said, ignoring the tingling sensations spreading from his mark, flooding his veins with sparks.

“Here we go again”, Wooyoung sighed but it had an almost… _fond_ quality to it. He lightly hit Yeosang’s back exactly once, catching him off-guard and making him sputter. “What was that for?” 

The fairy snickered at the reaction, getting up with a joyful jump. “For you being so stuck-up all the time. We did an amazing job, so loosen up a little.”

Yeosang resisted the blush threatening to cover his cheeks. “I don’t need you to tell me that. I knew what I was getting into and that it would prove fruitful.” He stood up as well, glancing at Wooyoung from the corner of his eye. “You better remember the formula for what you just did and write it down right when we get back to our room.”

“Ah, don’t fret - I already took care of that”, the fairy waved him off nonchalantly, another grin breaking out on his face when Yeosang couldn’t help but stare at him in disbelief. “What, you actually thought I came here unprepared and without even something to write on? Never.”

Yeosang had been played, and well. From claiming that he’d forgotten the materials to feigning that he was lost with the insubstantial spells at the beginning - Wooyoung had perfectly fooled him. The most confusing thing was, how Yeosang couldn’t decide between feeling annoyed or… weirdly appreciative. 

“Who’s flighty now, huh?”, Wooyoung asked, an infuriating lilt in his voice, paired with his now coy expression. It gave Yeosang goosebumps. The green flower was burning again - had it ever stopped? He wasn’t even paying attention anymore. 

_Appreciative. One-hundred percent._

Yeosang swallowed. “... That’s fortunate then”, he offered shakily, glossing over the fairy’s last question smoothly. He gave the drained vines a finishing look. “It hopefully shouldn’t return. At least not anytime soon.”

He thought he saw a flicker of disappointment ghost over Wooyoung’s face at the lack of a more elaborate response, but that could’ve merely been his imagination as the other’s words didn’t betray anything. “ _Hopefully_ ”, he enunciated, crossing his arms and side-eyeing the dead plants. “I’d suggest checking on it regularly, just in case.”

Yeosang nodded. “Can’t do any harm.”

Silence settled over them, although it wasn’t as uncomfortable as expected, since the noises of the forest around them were returning, no longer held at bay by the strong dark aura. “Time to head back”, Wooyoung said, already turning towards where they had come from. Yeosang followed him wordlessly. 

They didn’t say anything else throughout their whole walk and Yeosang was content to be done with their main interaction for the day when the fairy spoke up once more at the edge of the woods with the castle in sight. 

“Hey, I meant to ask you something”, he began and Yeosang felt his stomach drop. This could go in many directions and not all of them were nice. “What is it?”, he asked, consciously lacing his tone with calm. 

Wooyoung’s eyes were darting around nervously. “Umm… It’s about our partner symbols. Sometimes it’s as if mine has a mind of its own - it randomly starts hurting or heats up out of nowhere. At first I thought that it was my mind fabricating things, but…” He paused, finally looking at Yeosang fully before adding, “It’s been getting more intense ever since we reconciled. Mostly replacing the pain with… warmth. Are you experiencing this too?”

It took a lot out of Yeosang to keep his expression neutral. The fairy was probably able to read him like an open book anyway. As he always was. 

“No”, he stated, unfazed and simulating obliviousness. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but that sounds quite strange.”

Wooyoung stared at him, undoubtedly not buying at all what Yeosang had just said. “I feel it, right now”, he uttered quietly, never taking his eyes off Yeosang. “Pain, that is.”

Yeosang pulled himself together, holding the fairy’s gaze challengingly, blocking out the stings racing up his left arm. He wouldn’t admit that he could feel it as well. It would equal admitting that there was more to their connection than sheer convenience and Yeosang wasn’t ready to deal with the consequences of such a discovery. It was too early and he wouldn’t risk opening up too much to the fairy too fast. 

“I’m sorry to hear that”, he deadpanned. “It seems to be a one-way-road.”

Something vaguely bitter wandered over Wooyoung’s face at that. “Yeah. One-way-road describes it pretty well.” He took another breath, turning away and making his way towards the castle, not sparing Yeosang another glance. The latter watched him go, eventually doing the same. 

If his partner mark kept hurting for the rest of the day, only easing when they awkwardly shared their spell formulas with each other in the later evening, no one had to know. 

~*~

Yunho giddily gave the small hourglass another spin, beholding the sand getting whirled up in a tiny cloud before settling down and getting illuminated by the golden-orange, magical containment around it. It was daytime, thus the corresponding side of the hourglass was up, slowly trickling grain after grain down into the night one, which would come up in the course of time, reversing the positions. It was a splendid contrast, shimmering in dark hues of blue and grey. 

Mingi and him had made the precious thing expertly. Yunho was elated about their original idea pulling through and having materialized successfully without any complications. Their fairy professor for neutral magic - Yunho had admittedly been too shy to hand it to the witch one and Mingi had understood - had been intrigued by their approach to the joint spell task, praising them for their creativity. It wasn’t anything major or extraordinarily productive, yet that didn’t matter - it remained very delightful to look at and captured the essence of light and dark magic in an aesthetic way, connected with their prominent and belonging periods of time during an entire day. 

“Are you back to ogling your own creation for hours?”, came San’s teasing voice from the other side of the room. “Not hours. Just some more minutes”, Yunho corrected, not even taking his eyes off the hourglass. San let out a chuckle. “Glad it captures your attention that much.” 

It did. Not only because it was beautiful, but mainly because it was the first thing he and Mingi had created as a team. Working with the wizard was fun, both of them engaging in long sessions of brainstorming and rambling regularly and coming up with the wildest ideas sometimes. He never felt exhausted after hanging out with Mingi, more the opposite. Even when he wasn’t in a good mood, mountains of homework hanging above his head or not understanding something in one of his classes - meeting Mingi always cheered him up tremendously, the wizard also offering his help wherever he could. 

Their task with the _trilith_ bush had worked out wonderfully as well, each of them tending to the comparably robust shrub one day at a time, making it bloom healthily. They were on the same wavelength nearly everywhere, their interactions coming naturally and easily. Yunho was aware that his crush from the beginning had developed into something deeper by now, getting stronger with every single one of those exchanges. He never would’ve thought that he’d find someone like Mingi here, in this place where fairies and witches had started out their collaboration under less than friendly circumstances. 

But here they were. And he was grateful.

Grateful and once again caught up in daydreaming, even though he was supposed to meet with Hongjoong - right about now. His friend had asked him to hang out today following the afternoon classes, apparently for going over some history notes. Yunho could already guess that there was more to it, as Hongjoong had seemed to have more on his mind than some meager school notes. Wooyoung was busy with Yeosang, taking care of the vine Hongjoong had told them about, so that just left the two of them.

Yunho tore his gaze away from the hourglass, shifting it towards San sitting at his desk and apparently absorbed in the pages of a book. His roommate had been oddly reclusive over the past days, his normally cordial demeanour dulled and replaced by something resembling fatigue. Yunho didn’t even know what he’d be making for the joint spell. In fact, he didn’t even know who San’s partner was.

“What are you making for the assignment?”, he inquired, frowning when San noticeably tensed. 

“I…” The wizard cleared his throat. “ _We_ haven’t fixed ourselves on anything”, he said, peeking at Yunho shortly. “We’ve been preoccupied with… other stuff.”

It sounded weird and fishy in all kinds of ways. Yunho was about to press San to give him a less dubious answer, when the desire to do so suddenly fully dissipated from his thoughts, leaving him appeased with what he’d gotten out of his roommate. 

_It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing to be concerned about._

It felt as if it wasn’t his own voice telling him these things, yet he was powerless to confront it, his mind pushing the scene down and returning to what he should be doing instead without any more questions. 

“Cool. I’m meeting with Hongjoong now. See you later”, he said, grabbing his bag and exiting the room after hearing San’s curt “See you.”

Hongjoong had wanted to meet at the backside of the castle, near the greenhouse, claiming he’d love seeing the progress Yunho and his fellow students from botany class had made already. They’d supplied the bleak flowerbeds with fresh soil and planted various seeds, also adding whatever they’d successfully cultivated each lesson. He and Mingi had put their _trilith_ bush inside one as well, providing it with a more adequate location to continue blooming in. 

It was precisely in front of that bush that Yunho encountered Hongjoong, the latter waiting for him. “Where have you been?”, he got as a form of greeting. “Got held up a bit”, Yunho said sheepishly, Hongjoong’s knowing look telling him that his friend was aware that he’d presumably been enchanted by his hourglass. 

“As long as you’re here now”, he breathed, returning to the consistently flourishing greenery. “You’re doing well here. It’s beautiful”, he praised and Yunho hummed in affirmation. “It’s a great class. We’re learning so many things while putting them to practice just as much.”

“I believe that.” Hongjoong crouched in front of the _trilith_ bush, touching one of its broad, thick leaves. “This is from your second assignment, isn’t it?”

Yunho nodded proudly, getting down next to him. “Yes. It turned out fantastically.” Hongjoong didn’t say anything else, a small silence stretching between them. “So, which notes do you wanna compare?”

Hongjoong’s fingers fiddled with the straps of his bag timidly. “Actually… those aren’t important.”

_Figures._

“What did you really want to talk about?”, Yunho asked, softer and more serious. 

He got a sigh in return. “I don’t even know, to be honest. My mind’s in chaos about this whole collaboration and it’s troubling me.”

 _The collaboration. Right_ , Yunho thought, unconvinced. “With _collaboration_ , you specifically mean Seonghwa, don’t you?”

It was almost embarrassing how quickly Hongjoong fell victim to a blush rushing to his cheeks, automatically invalidating whatever he might say next. “N-No. Why him? I’m not worried about him.” A moment later he realized what he’d just said and denied it right away, slightly panicky and flailing his hands around. “I _mean_ , I’m _very_ worried about him. How could I not be?”

Yunho caught his friend’s hands unceremoniously, holding onto them and grounding him, dragging him up and towards one of the spare stone benches standing at the edges of the flowerbeds. “Listen, you don’t have to keep up a pretense. Just tell me your true feelings and I can give you advice”, he offered calmly once they were seated. 

Hongjoong got over his blockade at that, gazing at Yunho in defeat. “Fine. It _is_ about Seonghwa”, he grumbled. “I’m… I’m starting to get along with him. We don’t fight anymore and… it’s strange.”

“So your insecurity stems from not knowing how to act friendly with him?”, Yunho concluded, Hongjoong nodding miserably. “Even if we mess with each other, it’s… not bad. It’s fun.” Suddenly he had a far-away look in his eyes. “And there was this situation a few days ago - I went to Seonghwa’s room to work on our own third task and…”, he trailed off, the blush becoming more prominent. Yunho felt a bit of suspicion rising, not sure whether he was liking in which direction this was going. “And…?”, he still prompted. 

Hongjoong gulped. “ _And_ we managed to create a spell. It was all nice.”

“What’s the issue then?”

“We… we held hands throughout casting it." 

Yunho was tempted to tease Hongjoong about how cutely mortified he seemed to feel about the admission. He himself had certainly lost count of how many times he'd held Mingi's hands by now, finding nothing wrong with it, rather enjoying and welcoming it with a fluttering heart whenever it happened. The casual touches were also becoming more frequent these days and assuring him that it was a shared sentiment between the wizard and him. 

But Yunho had to keep in mind that his own situation was very different from Hongjoong’s and that something as comparably simple as holding hands with his, quote, "sworn enemy" was a big step for him. "That's sweet."

Hongjoong choked on his saliva, coughing roughly twice. "That's not the word I'd use." 

Yunho smiled mischievously. "How about tender? Precious? _Fluffy_?" 

Hongjoong groaned but it was accompanied by a laugh. "Spirits, stop it."

Yunho couldn't help his own giggle, more than happy to see his friend was nervous in a maybe awkward but not depressed way. Nonetheless, he returned to the initial struggle afterwards. "I think the only thing you're worried about _is_ that you're worried in the first place.” Hongjoong looked at him in confusion, making him elaborate. “What I mean is that there’s something limiting and preventing you from accepting that it’s completely decent to get along with Seonghwa. You’re being influenced and steered by your base instinct to hate him.”

“I suppose I am…”, Hongjoong murmured, Yunho squeezing his hands. “And think about it - why is that?”

“Well, obviously I have more than enough reason to do so, taking into account what happened back then”, Hongjoong ranted, although he paused momentarily with a pensive expression appearing on his face which told Yunho that his friend had understood what he’d been hinting at. “That incident makes me incapable of appreciating what we have now because I’m hung up on the past. It’s a solid obstacle, hindering any real progress in our relationship from truly being acknowledged and taken for what it is, as favorable as it may be.”

“So, what would be the logical decision in this scenario?”, Yunho further encouraged him.

Hongjoong pressed his lips together briefly. “Finally talking it out.”

In spite of the reluctance in his voice, he saw reason. Yunho smiled at him brightly. “Talk it out with him”, he repeated. “Best right when you next see him.” 

“That’s easy for you to say”, Hongjoong lamented, features drawn in doubt once again. “Where do I even begin?”

“You shouldn't tear yourself down with this anxiety. Face it all head-on and everything will fall into place, happening naturally."

“Do you seriously think so?” Hongjoong’s tone took on a faintly hopeful note. Yunho let go of his hands and put them on his shoulders instead. “Yes, I do. Just be straightforward and put in an effort to make things better. Seonghwa will share the sentiment.” 

It was a bit of a wild guess on Yunho’s side since he definitely didn’t know the wizard well, probably least out of the quartet of witches he and his friends had found themselves entangled with. Seeing as there _still_ hadn’t been another fallout resembling the one at the magical congress from last year though, Yunho was quite positive in regards to them discussing precisely that and getting over it.

Hongjoong huffed. “We’ll see about that.” 

Yunho winked at him. “Oh, I’m _sure_ we will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was enjoyable. Get ready for Seongjoong finally having The Talk in the next chapter.  
> And I'm very sorry, but I'll be taking a break from updating for the next weeks because university is seriously killing me and unfortunately taking up all of my energies - but don't worry, I'm gonna be back on February 15th! :)  
> Until then, thanks a lot again to everyone reading and supporting this story! Take care and stay safe! <333


	14. XIII

“Your joint spell was simply marvellous. I remain in awe of it - what a delightful turn your partnership has taken with it.” Their botany professor was currently praising Wooyoung and Yeosang yet again for their flawless execution of the third assignment. She’d been amazed at their complex spell and how it had worked perfectly, not just in theory but also in practice, as it was neatly written and elaborated on in their respective report - courtesy to Yeosang because Wooyoung absolutely couldn’t be bothered writing something so overwhelmingly dry. The wizard hadn’t seemed to mind, his strict and overly rule-confined schooling coming in usefully. 

Strangely the teacher hadn’t appeared to be bothered by the recount of the vine, telling them not to worry about it too much. Neither Wooyoung nor Yeosang gave it more thought, sticking with how they’d just regularly check on it themselves.

“For that reason, I’ve decided to make the subject for your next task botany this time. You more than earned it through your hard effort”, the professor continued now, Wooyoung perking up immediately. “Really? Which plant are we going to take care of?” 

Next to him Yeosang was clearly experiencing the same excitement at her announcement, but of course he was being much more subtle about it, his eyes merely betraying an intrigued shimmer. 

Their professor put on a challenging expression. “A rose-gold _aventia_ ”, she said. Wooyoung and Yeosang both gave her a wide-eyed look at that, making her smile. “I see you know which flower I’m talking about.”

Wooyoung _did_ know. _Aventia_ flowers were extremely rare, having gained fame through their extraordinary beauty as well as a strong reputation among botanists for being very sensitive and demanding to take care of. Wooyoung had only ever seen an _aventia_ once before, blooming prettily in the depths of the blessed forest. It had been a white one though, comparably common - meanwhile rose-gold was the _most_ rare of them all. 

“How… How were you able to acquire one?”, came Yeosang’s astonished voice. It certainly had to be something major if it left even him speechless. Their professor moved her hand to make a pot float over to their desk. “I found it here - as if it was waiting all these years for someone to come and nourish it”, she explained wistfully. 

Wooyoung greedily eyed the tiny flowerbud sprouting from the soil. His fingers were itching to make it bloom with all the care and earthy magic he could provide. A quick glance at Yeosang told him that his partner shared the sentiment, happily focusing on the small plant. Wooyoung was momentarily distracted by the subtle smile softening the wizard’s features. _He should do that more often._

“You’re entrusting _us_ with taking care of it?”, he asked, their professor nodding zealously. “You’ve had a rather turbulent start as partners, but you’ve shown an amazing performance at your third assignment - you deserve a difficult task like this now. Plus, you’ve been good students during all botany lessons, which is why I’m convinced of your abilities being sufficient.”

“Thank you”, Wooyoung replied shyly. He _did_ feel proud of their accomplishment and his skills too. After all the drama things were finally clearing up and starting to look hopeful. “We’ll try our best”, Yeosang promised serenely, their teacher nodding once more and eventually leaving them alone, moving on to another pair of students. 

Wooyoung immediately held his hand over the flowerbud, sending out a delicate bout of magic to read the plant’s energy. He had a vague image formed in his mind when Yeosang swatted away his hand, not exactly gently. “Stop that. We can’t risk being careless with this”, he scolded, decidedly serious about the task and not in the mood for any playing around. 

“I didn’t do anything”, Wooyoung defended himself, still pulling back his arm. “You better actually keep up this dedicated attitude if we wanna make this a success.”

Yeosang raised an eyebrow. “Says _you_ of all people.”

“ _I_ have never felt so much dedication for a task.”

“I’m looking forward to that being proven true then.”

They exchanged a look filled with something that didn’t quite qualify as tension, but it was something resembling it. A certain kind of anticipation. Wooyoung felt his partner mark spark with a warm, needling sensation. 

He _knew_ that Yeosang felt his own acting up as well - why the wizard had been so adamant in denying it was a mystery for Wooyoung. It didn’t make any sense to him. If Yeosang would be honest with him, they could potentially even find out more about it together. He’d done some more research alone one afternoon in the library, catching the same book where he’d originally found the information about their binding spell. Unfortunately it hadn’t been very productive, as there weren’t any notations or mentions about the symbols hurting or heating up. 

Wooyoung wasn’t content with carrying on clueless regarding the weird occurrence, but it was all he could do for the moment. He _had_ deduced that the pain happened whenever Yeosang and him were engaged in a fight or anything similar and that the flares of warmth varied in their strength, depending on the more amicable interactions that took place between them. It was fascinating… yet disconcerting. 

He hadn’t told any of his friends about it, neither Hongjoong nor Yunho, mainly because none of them had mentioned anything like it either. There was a chance of him being the only one of them experiencing it and somehow it made him even more afraid to bring up the topic. The sole person he’d be able to talk about it with was none other than Yeosang, who refused to do so for whatever reason. 

_Can’t change it for now._

Wooyoung wouldn’t let himself be distracted by it too much for now. There were enough other things to be taken care of anyway - first and foremost the rose-gold _aventia_. Putting his efforts into guarding it and making it bloom beautifully would provide him with sufficient motivation to bide him over the next week, minimum. 

So that was what he did. He went to classes, did his homework and met with his friends, even managing to - physically - drag along Yeosang to one of their hangouts after barely convincing the wizard that it would be worth it. Considering that Wooyoung had seen his partner let out a full-fledged laugh for the very first time - Mingi had attempted to climb out of the window, wanting to try out flying with the help of a flimsy spell he and Yunho had come up with spontaneously, the latter holding him back concernedly -, he’d say that it had indeed definitely been worth it. 

Hongjoong had pushed an unsubtle elbow into his side, telling him to shut his mouth and stop staring at the stunning sight that was Yeosang breaking out into sweet giggles. Wooyoung still hadn’t recovered from it, glad that Yeosang hadn’t noticed his amazement back then.

All the while he and his partner in question kept alternating with watching over their precious flower, granting it all the amount of sunlight or shadows it needed and strengthening it with magical infusions from their own hands to help it grow. Occasionally they fell back into their bickering antics, the snide remarks happening just as frequently as ever and coming from both sides - with the decisive difference that they were mostly lacking in actual maliciousness. 

It was one of those evenings again, the two of them tired after another day of classes, but nevertheless highly disciplined with observing the _aventia_.

“Did you water it properly yesterday?”, Yeosang asked critically, fixating the flower’s thin stem and pushing his fingertips into the soft soil around it. 

“You did _not_ just ask me such an unnecessary question”, Wooyoung fired back from where he was lying on his bed, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. 

“Just making sure”, the wizard muttered, finishing his initial examination and folding his hands. When he separated them, Wooyoung saw a swirl of darkness hang between them, proceedingly released and seeping into the pot’s earth. 

When Yeosang had done that the first time on the second day after they’d gotten tasked with taking care of the plant, Wooyoung had been horrified, fearing that it would kill its life instantly. That had not been the case though, Yeosang reassuring him that the magic he was infusing it with _was_ dark, but not originating from a curse. It would nourish the flower through pulling energy from some of its surroundings, including Yeosang himself. Since a lot of the spell’s strength was taken away by lessening its intensity, it wasn’t as effective as a light one by far, but in their case it was of advantage. 

First, the rose-gold _aventia_ , unlike the white one, wasn’t limited to solely accepting light magic as a source of nourishment, allowing shadows to grant it some life as well. And secondly, the flower was quite sensitive when it came to the percentages of magic being infused into it, its requirements fluctuating between high and low permanently. Thus switching between generous light and meager shadow infusions brought forth a reasonably satisfying result.

“Is the energy level high enough that such a little dark spell is adequate?”, Wooyoung asked, sitting up slightly and peering at the flower himself. 

Yeosang didn’t spare him a glance. “Instead of worrying about what _I’m_ doing, you should rather concentrate on regulating your powers. We don’t need another incident like yesterday.”

Wooyoung groaned. “Please, I already apologized for it! It was an accident and in the end I was able to make the flower recover right away, so why do you keep bringing it up?” It was true that he’d almost suffocated the _aventia_ in an oversized bout of light, manifesting due to him not paying attention for a few seconds. As for the reason for his distraction, there was no way he would admit that it had been Yeosang himself, cutely letting Wooyoung’s energy stones - he’d come to love them unashamedly by now - dance around in the air with an innocent curiosity radiating off him. Only when the wizard had caught him did Wooyoung realize that he’d messed up, hurriedly trying to mend the damage. Luckily he hadn’t smothered the flower _too_ much, but the whole event had made Yeosang scold him, the carefree aura gone and replaced with one of annoyance. 

_Just the usual._

“I don’t want your excuses, I just want you to not repeat such a mistake”, the wizard huffed, putting away the water pipette after dropping the minuscule amounts of liquid directly around the stem meticulously. He gave a final, tender nudge to the blossoms, faded pink with golden streaks that were glittering beautifully whenever they were touched by sunlight during daytime. 

“Trust me, I won’t”, Wooyoung promised, lying back down. 

Yeosang scoffed. “I’m not sure I _trust_ you.”

“Seriously? You’re hurting my feelings.” Wooyoung let the - exaggerated - pout shine through his tone. He studied Yeosang sitting down at his desk. 

“Don’t pretend like it isn’t the same for you”, the wizard said, a hint of uncertainty hidden in the statement. 

“I’m not _pretending_. In fact, _I_ do trust you with this. Your skills at least.” Wooyoung added the last part in a quick breath, not missing the pleasant surprise flickering over Yeosang’s face. 

Ever since the wizard had told him about his parents owning a garden market - a rare business in the West, making it even more impressive that they were able to set it up in the first place -, Wooyoung had truthfully and confidently placed his trust in Yeosang's abilities, assured that he did indeed know what he was doing. “You should try and have faith in me too. You won’t regret it”, Wooyoung further suggested, putting on a grin.

Yeosang’s eyes flitted over Wooyoung’s form before he turned away with a sigh. “Let me think about it.”

~*~

Seonghwa was standing in front of the main bookshelf of the geography section in the library. Hongjoong was assumedly one aisle away, searching for fitting literature just like him. Fitting literature for their next partner task, which entailed writing an essay about a specific historical topic - namely the formation of the realm of light and shadows, the building of the border between East and West. This time it had been them getting stuck with history. Following their well-graded solution for the last assignment, Seonghwa and Hongjoong had both decided that it would be best to get this next one done soon as possible too. 

Despite the happiness about their success Seonghwa could feel a tangible level of awkwardness hanging in the air. It was undoubtedly the aftermath of whatever had transpired between them while creating the shadow ball. Seonghwa found his thoughts returning to the eventful evening embarrassingly often. 

It had already taken a lot for him to overcome the hurdle of asking Hongjoong to come to his room in the first place. And late as it had been, the fairy _had_ ultimately joined him. No problems had arisen and they’d gotten to work smoothly, taking notes interfered by the occasional pensive hum or frown - until Hongjoong had given his suggestion of modifying the spell for the contained lightballs. It was a nice idea, not too complicated but also not extremely simple. The perfect choice for a small, joint spell of light and dark magic. Seonghwa had agreed for precisely that reason, the gears in his mind turning to overdrive and coming up with possibilities of making it all work out. 

He certainly was not familiar with light magic though, which was why it hadn’t been surprising when he’d struggled to adjust his energy levels to Hongjoong’s. Naturally, dark magic typically put more pressure on whoever was casting or affected by it, requiring a stronger focus as well. Seonghwa was accustomed to it, but not the fairy. Seonghwa had tried slowing down the flow, but apparently it hadn’t been nearly enough because Hongjoong kept being thrown off and hadn’t been able to find his balance. Connecting their magical flows physically had turned out to be the plain choice to mend it - and Seonghwa had accepted it willingly, not left to merely guessing his partner’s energy level, but _feeling_ it. 

It had been a strange sensation, yet Seonghwa couldn’t say that he’d experienced it as something uncomfortable. On the contrary, it had been thrilling and more than appreciated to find their equilibrium and it had led to the shared spell being a success. He’d been overjoyed, proud of their plans working out perfectly at the first try and upon seeing Hongjoong reflecting his happy expression back at him, he’d suddenly become starkly aware of something shifting within him. In his heart, to be exact. 

Not only had his pulse stuttered, the close proximity with the fairy taking his breath away, but his thoughts had strewn into a _dangerously_ questionable territory that left him a blushing mess. He’d noticed details about Hongjoong that he probably would’ve been better off with not paying attention to. Especially his eyes, once again, framed by long eyelashes and beautiful as ever. And even prettier, his beaming smile. It made Seonghwa speechless and stuck in a trance of pure admiration. He wanted to see it more often, preferably directed at him. 

That was the point where Seonghwa tended to force his thought process into a screeching halt - that was what he’d done over the majority of the past week. He was so confused, constantly in denial some way or another about how much Hongjoong was occupying his mind and most of all how it wasn’t happening in a negative way. Something aching to _fondness_ was creeping in through every unguarded crack he left open for his heart to meddle with his rationality. It was almost scary.

He was glad that he’d managed to pull away that evening before it could’ve potentially gotten out of hand. Not that he himself even knew what _out of hand_ would be insinuating. Absolutely not. 

Seonghwa shook his head lightly, clearing the emotional fog from his mind and scrutinizing the rows of geography books in front of him on his quest of finding something decent among them. He’d just taken out a promising one, checking its table of contents for an overview when Hongjoong turned around the corner, three thick tomes in his arms. “I think these sound useful. Did you find something too?”

Seonghwa hummed, eyes gliding over the chapter titles. “Yes. This one could be helpful.”

He shut it, looking over at the fairy and finding the latter’s gaze already on him. A minute smile grazed his lips. “Alright. Let’s find a table then.”

_There it is._ Even in its more subtle form it made Seonghwa’s heart jump. 

He said nothing, following his partner from a short distance towards one of the reading areas. He wouldn’t make the mistake of sitting down right next to Hongjoong, so he took the seat opposite of him. _Is this what has become of me? Not being master of my senses around a_ fairy _?_

Seonghwa took out his notebook and pens, Hongjoong mirroring him wordlessly. They proceeded each taking up one of the books and reading up on whatever they could need, having decided already beforehand that they’d try and write a basis separately first, trying to combine and interweave their thoughts subsequently. Seonghwa was content being immersed in the academic work, his points coming together nicely and adding up to a gratifying structure. Judging from how the scratching of Hongjoong’s own pen could be heard constantly, the fairy was in a similar kind of productive high. It was peaceful, no unnecessary noises or other sounds disturbing them. Seonghwa liked it. 

He’d just finished the part he’d definitely add to the essay’s overall conclusion, when Hongjoong cleared his throat pointedly. Seonghwa lifted his gaze from his notes to meet that of his partner who was already looking at him, hands no longer writing but folded on the table. “As lovely as this atmosphere is right now, I think we need to talk about something.” 

He sounded nervous and Seonghwa wouldn’t blame him. He could guess in which direction this was going. Hongjoong was honestly brave for bringing it up. Seonghwa figured that he should at least try and meet the fairy halfway. “You mean, regarding our first meeting?”, he inquired, glad that his voice didn’t betray any of the turmoil going on inside his head. 

He saw Hongjoong tighten the grip between his hands, knuckles turning white. “Yes. It’s been hanging in the air unaddressed for too long, don’t you agree?”

Seonghwa sighed. “I do. The question is, how should we best dismantle this issue?”

Hongjoong stared at him for three seconds. “First of all, you could apologize.”

_I should’ve seen that coming._ “For what exactly?”, Seonghwa asked carefully, keeping his expression neutral.

Hongjoong knit his eyebrows. “You can’t have forgotten what happened. You basically insulted me in spite of not even knowing me.”

Seonghwa pressed his lips together. He did remember the magical congress. The potions lecture, held by a well-known witch scholar. The infuriating, red-haired fairy being unfortunately seated next to him. And him overhearing what said fairy was talking about with his friend. “I caught you saying how sticking to recipes properly doesn't matter when it comes to making potions - that it's fine to go with your intuition and that whoever adheres to strict measurements is uncreative and boring, unable to grasp the subject's essence."

"And, was I wrong?" There was something very provocative in the question, Hongjoong clearly standing by his point, and Seonghwa retaliated in kind. "Obviously you were. There's nothing more important to potion making than taking care to be as precise as possible. Our second assignment alone should've proven that to you."

Hongjoong stared at him blankly. "Be that as it may, my opinion was none of your business back then. You didn't have to go ahead and call me a waste of space at the lecture with my _undisciplined_ attitude."

Seonghwa flinched minimally at the callout. He _had_ said that - but only because it had seriously rubbed him the wrong way. He hadn't been enthusiastic about attending the congress with the fairies anyway and something like this reaching his ears had confirmed him in every negative aspect he'd heard about them. He tried staying collected. "I couldn't just sit by witnessing such a careless statement. And it's not as if you didn't immediately react in a similar way."

Hongjoong chuckled humorlessly. Seonghwa didn't like the sound. It lacked all the warmth and honesty it usually held. "Well, how could I have remained silent after you attacked me like that? I couldn't resist."

Seonghwa saw scattered memories of their fight flashing before his eyes, a heated argument breaking out between them effortlessly. It hadn't been pretty. 

"I called you a useless straw."

“And I called you a pretentious squanderer of magic, just like your whole kind.”

_That_ one had hit particularly hard, leading to Yeosang and Wooyoung having to step in, separating them. Wooyoung had dragged Hongjoong away unceremoniously, the both of them finding another pair of seats some rows behind. Seonghwa still remembered the commotion their quarrel had caused, other witches and fairies alike watching it with wide eyes. All the while Seonghwa was fuming with anger, barely contained and gradually simmering down when Yeosang told him to not let the irritating fairy bother him so much. 

_What a first impression. Now look where we are._

"That insult was almost funny, in retrospect", he admitted, earning him a brief reaction from Hongjoong, his expression morphing into something less anxious upon hearing Seonghwa's next words. "I'm sorry for what I said."

And he meant it. 

Hongjoong considered him for a few seconds before sighing deeply. "I'm sorry too. We both messed up there."

"We did, but I think we also know why it even escalated like that."

"It all boils down to the stereotypes that have been hammered into our brains”, Hongjoong said bitterly.

“Aren’t we proving all of them wrong right now though?”, Seonghwa countered quietly, meeting Hongjoong’s surprised gaze. “We fell victim to them while we didn’t know each other, blindly believing what they suggested and acting accordingly, antagonizing each other at the first chance. But at this point, having worked together productively on multiple occasions and talking regularly, I think we both have realized how foolish these prejudices are.”

Hongjoong put on a contemplative expression. “You’re right. We’ve come so far already. It would be a shame to lose all of that just because of the mistakes we’ve made in the past - mistakes that weren’t even truly our own fault.”

“Precisely”, Seonghwa confirmed, leaning forward a bit. “So, what do you say? Can we move on from the issue?”

Hongjoong came closer as well. “Yes. Let’s make it stay as a faint memory and focus on making the best out of the present.”

"An unforgettable yet forgiven first meeting?" 

"Sounds good."

Their eyes met in mutual understanding, both filled with hope and anticipation for what they’d potentially be facing in the future. Seonghwa was undeniably glad that they had finally sorted out their rough beginning - it no longer had to haunt either of them, standing between them as an unwelcome reminder of what they were supposed to be according to what each of their societies had branded them as. 

“Great. Let’s keep it up then”, Seonghwa smiled, genuine joy laced within it and he was happy to find Hongjoong visibly relaxing, shoulders slumping slightly and breathing out loudly. “You have no idea how much this was occupying my mind”, the fairy muttered, evident relief shining through his words. 

“Likewise”, Seonghwa confessed, taking up his pen once more. “Which is why we’re _not_ going to do that anymore, as the border formation is the most important thing at the moment.”

Hongjoong let out a short laugh, the sound pure and sweet. _This_ was what it was meant to sound like. “Agreed. What have you gathered so far?”

“I found that it was actually the mermaids who put up the basement on the fairies' request, separating the mixed realm into two of light and shadow”, Seonghwa reported. “I haven't seen this version of it anywhere in our records, but it tells me that it appears as if you’ve always been ones for separation instead of collaboration.”

Hongjoong snipped a drop of ink in his direction for the end of his sentence, but his face betrayed amusement, not offense. “We simply knew that it would do no good to further associate with you _vile_ witches. A really smart choice that saved ourselves a lot of trouble.”

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, playing along. “More like you spared _us_ the nuisance of dealing with your unnecessary preachings and pathetic magic.”

“You won’t call it pathetic anymore when it eventually comes around to get its revenge on you for degrading it”, Hongjoong warned, sputtering when Seonghwa suddenly snatched his papers from his side of the desk, catching him off-guard. “Hey, what are you doing?”

Seonghwa ignored the fairy’s attempts of getting his notes back, standing up and holding them out of reach for his arms. “Searching for where that vengeful, twinkling magic might be coming from so that I can prepare myself for the worst case.”

It drew another chuckle from Hongjoong who rose from his seat as well. “You won’t find anything about that in this. If you want, I can give you a lesson myself some time.” With that he plucked the papers from Seonghwa’s hands, hiding them behind his back.

“Oh, a _private_ lesson? About fairy magic?”, Seonghwa inquired. “I’d be honored.”

The blush on Hongjoong’s cheeks accompanying his statement spoke volumes. It was cute. Very much so. “S-Sure”, the fairy said, sitting back down and fussing over his notes exaggeratedly. “It’s about time you learn something about how to _respectfully_ handle and act around magic.”

Seonghwa huffed, walking the small distance to stand next to Hongjoong, leaning in minimally. “I’m looking forward to you enlightening me then.”

He was relishing in Hongjoong reddening even more at their sudden proximity - although the fairy was unexpectedly quick with turning the tables on him, getting up once more and putting a hand on his chest. He pushed Seonghwa back, following nonetheless, keeping their faces close. “You should be”, he breathed, subtly digging his fingers into Seonghwa’s collar, his embarrassment seemingly forgotten and replaced by something dangerously confident. 

Now it was Seonghwa helplessly staring at him and not being able to fight the blush off his face. He swallowed when Hongjoong let him go, temporarily stunned. _This is bad_ , he thought. 

“Cat got your tongue?”, Hongjoong asked slyly, returning to scribbling something on his papers. 

_This is really bad._ Seonghwa tried to calm down his stupid, fluttering heartbeat. “No.”

Hongjoong didn’t say anything more and Seonghwa took it as a cue to get back to his own work, sinking down opposite of the fairy and granting himself three more seconds of observing him, shifting his attention to the task at hand proceedingly. “Where were we?”

Hongjoong twirled his pen around cheerfully. “The border.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!  
> I'm very sorry for the long break, but at least I survived the end of the semester. I still have deadlines looming and papers to finish, but I just seriously missed this story, including all of you as its readers!  
> I hope this chapter isn't too bad, as I didn't have as much time as usual for editing it. The next chapter will finally introduce a certain new perspective that many of you have been waiting for, so look forward to it ^^
> 
> (On a sidenote: I'm SO excited for the comeback!)


	15. XIV

San was listening to Mingi mindlessly chattering while simultaneously trying to focus on his homework. It was just the two of them in the latter’s room. Hongjoong would probably be gone until evening, apparently working on something with Seonghwa. Yunho was busy with something from his familiars class, Mingi presumably joining him later to possibly help and Yeosang was so obsessed with the damn flower he and Wooyoung had to take care of that he’d become unavailable, minus that one time his fairy partner had dragged him along.

“... can’t be helped that it’s just boring history now, because we’ve had something exciting the last time”, Mingi was currently saying, talking about how he and Yunho had gotten history for their next partner assignment. San had left that specific subject behind him - with an essay he had written completely by himself. 

But it was tolerable. His partner had his reasons.

_Speaking of which…_ He felt a sneaking sensation pulling at the edges of his mind, throwing down his pen at it and stopping Mingi in his flow. “Are you done already?”

San shook his head apologetically. “Nope. Do you mind if I leave earlier? I have something else to do.”

“No problem. Does it have something to do with your partner?”, Mingi asked and once again San was slightly impressed by how much more perceptive he was than one would give him credit for. 

“Kinda”, San merely gave back, a bit of a pained smile gracing his features. 

Mingi gave him a sympathetic look, mixed with some confusion. “Good luck with that then. Is it weird that I don’t even remember their name? Or what they look like? Is it a guy or a girl?”

The pained smile deepened. “Don’t worry about it. I haven’t spoken about him all too much with any of you.”

“Ah, _him_. Well, tell him my regards and that he better get his stuff together soon.”

San laughed quietly. “Will do. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye!”

He exited the room, quick on his feet and swiftly making his way downstairs. Quite a lot of stairs, considering how high up it was located, but it didn’t matter as San had only one destination in mind anyway. 

The beach. 

He passed by a few students on his way out of the grande castle, breathing in the balmy air upon stepping into the yard. The sun was out and shining prettily as always, summer in full bloom. 

_That reminds me, my birthday is approaching_ , he thought, surprised at how he had forgotten about the date being soon. Then again, it was no wonder with how his mind was occupied these days. He was about to meet up with the source of those worries.

San turned around the castle’s corner, casually jogging towards and eventually along the beach. The sea laid before him, a stunning sight as usual with its endless azure blanket of wavy waters. He’d been here so often over the previous weeks that it had become something close to normal for him by now. He neared the upper end of the shore, soon finding the cave entrance he’d been looking for. It was hidden well between several rock formations, blending into the shadows the stone threw over it to veil it from any curious eyes. San probably wouldn’t have found it himself if it weren’t for a certain person showing him the way. A certain person who was waiting for him inside, as expected. 

“Good afternoon, San”, the guy greeted, friendly and welcoming from where he was perched on the floor, right beside the jagged edge of the cave’s floor leading into a small grotto of glittering ocean water. 

“Hi Jongho”, San gave back breezily, claiming his spot on one of the protruding, flattened rocks. “How are things today?”

Jongho hummed. “Not exactly ideal, but they could be worse.”

“I suppose that’s alright then. Are your people coping well?”

With _people_ , San was referring to the merfolk living not all too far away from the sea castle’s coast. The mermaids whose ancestors had built it had never actually abandoned it and Jongho was one of them.

“That would be too optimistic of a term. Let’s say they’re not doing as bad as they would without the help.” Jongho’s expression took on a wistful layer, the topic clearly weighing him down. 

San sighed. “It really is strange. What is happening down there and what does it have to do with the collaboration?”

Jongho regarded him piercingly, tone carefully neutral. “How many times do I have to tell you that I can’t let you know?”

San didn’t even try to hide his pout. “Well, it just doesn’t make sense to me, no matter how often you repeat it.”

“You still agreed to help me. I guess you’ll just have to… trust me”, Jongho said, probably hating it himself how annoyingly vague it sounded. “I promise, I’ll explain everything to you when the time comes.”

_Whenever that may be…_

San crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Fine. Let me tell you about _my_ present situation then.”

Jongho was visibly grateful for him changing the subject, sitting up straighter and listening attentively to San’s recount of the past few days and what he’d observed. He mainly talked about his friends and how they were all getting closer to their respective fairy partners, the animosity steadily melting away and being replaced by a sort of excitement - excitement to make all of their respective assignments a success while getting to know each other at the same time. 

Those happenings weren’t limited to his friends, the mood having fallen over pretty much the whole student population, fairies and witches alike. Both factions hung out often and productively, creating a harmonious atmosphere within the castle. They had all come a long way from the beginning.

The sole person who wasn’t able to count himself among the lucky students having put aside most of their differences at last was San himself - not counting his contact with the partners of his friends - because _he_ didn’t have a fairy partner. No, his partner was a mermaid, or rather mer _man_ , too mysterious for his own good and regularly leaving San clueless after every meeting. It was, frankly said, depressing. A little.

San didn’t remember what had compelled him to go to the beach alone during the night on the evening of the partner announcement. He’d even put a hush spell on himself as a precaution to Yunho waking up, which he luckily didn’t. San had sneaked towards the sea with the moon shining down on him, feeling a magnetic pull drawing him in. It had been fairly bizarre, but he was powerless in defending himself against it.

And that was when he’d met Jongho, the merman appearing in his non-human form, caught between the crashing waves with a vividly red tail - matching his hair - gleaming through and waiting for him. San had been singled out by him, who’d apparently been watching the students over their period of free days while they’d been enjoying their leisure time. Thus Jongho had come to the conclusion that San would be the perfect candidate to play his companion. Not an easy job, as San knew now.

The merman had explained how his people were stuck in a dire situation, not elaborating much on the matter, but emphasizing on how it would be of utmost importance for him to somehow become a part of the project to help them. Secretly, of course. San probably wouldn’t have been able to refuse, even if he’d wanted to, since right after the encounter and upon returning to his bed he’d figured out that there definitely had been some mermaid magic messing with his head and partly his memories.

He hadn’t remembered what Jongho looked like. He’d only remembered that the merman would disguise himself as San’s fairy partner to blend in and keep watching what was happening inside the sea castle’s walls, but not constantly. Jongho was only able to keep up his shifted, two-legged persona for so long, forced to return to the sea within roughly 20 hours, at most - half the amount of that time was what was deemed healthy. Back when the sea castle had been a mermaid academy, that hadn’t been an obstacle, as every student and teacher had easily switched between land and sea several times a day and routinely spent the nights under the sea, the settlements there ancient and preserved well. 

That’s where San came into the picture. He was fully human - and for that, easier to control than a fairy -, no struggles to be found, which made him the perfect middleman. He’d regularly report to Jongho, keeping him updated about everything, especially when the merman was temporarily unable to stay on the surface himself. For whatever reason. San had no idea.

It had been approximately three weeks ago when he’d gone to the cave - which had quickly been established as their standard meeting spot -, prepared to give the customary recount of recent events, not having seen Jongho for three days. What he’d found was a noticeably distressed merman, anxiety radiating off him and leading to San being nervous as well. Jongho had told him that there was something evil in the forest, having materialized unforeseen. They couldn’t let it be like that, yet Jongho absolutely didn’t want anyone to find out - he’d given one of his “ _too early_ ” speeches again that San had become familiar with by now -, which made telling someone about it virtually impossible. 

That was when San had suggested letting his friends discover it by accident, convinced that they’d keep it to themselves, but would probably work to extinguish it to the best of their abilities. To make them do that, San had developed an impromptu, uncomplicated and effective plan because that was also what his new job included - occasionally interfering when it became necessary and steering things into the right direction.

San had stolen the blue herbs from the laboratory that Hongjoong and Seonghwa would’ve required as a last ingredient for their potions assignment, leading them to look for fresh ones in the forest, thus finding the evil thing - the cursed vine. They hadn’t reported it, as San had promised Jongho, the merman grateful for his help and even more elated at Yeosang and Wooyoung competently using their magic to drain the ominous plant a few days later. And of course it took another smooth veiling spell to prevent their botany professor from thinking about it any further. 

The incident had led to Jongho opening up a bit more to San, letting more information slip than originally, throwing in hints of what was going on beyond the ocean’s wild waves, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make complete sense of everything. In spite of that and the fact that San remained under Jongho’s basic spell constantly - awarely so -, he felt something like a friendship developing between them. San _wanted_ to help Jongho and his fellow merpeople, his conviction getting firmer every time he reconvened with the latter and saw him look remarkably tired, ill and beaten. Maybe he didn’t know the details and concrete reasons behind Jongho’s plans, but he wasn’t as blind to not recognize that it simply _had_ to be something major burdening the merman and that he wouldn’t keep his secrets like that if it weren’t necessary.

All San was more or less confident about as of now, was that there was some kind of sickness spreading among the merfolk and that it was potentially connected to an extraordinarily dark curse which had also brought forth the malevolent vine. Which role did the collaboration play in that equation though? San didn’t know.

Obviously it wasn’t nice to be left alone with all the partner assignments on his own, Jongho neither interested nor probably able to execute them with him, as the merman’s magic was indeed powerful but it didn’t work in the same ways as that of a fairy or witch. The teachers didn’t notice anything, affected by an even stronger form of the illusion spell that San was standing under as well, cast and held up by Jongho's people continually. At least he’d be able to keep his conscience intact and remember why he was acting the way he was - as long as he’d willingly cooperate, went without saying. 

Although San doubted that Jongho would ever put him on the high level of suppression as the professors, considering how they’d already bonded and created an amicable connection. He was finally allowed to keep his proper memories of every meeting, recalling Jongho’s face just as much as his words, which was a great difference compared to the onset of their partnership. 

San wasn’t sure if their bond worked as it did for his friends, as they didn’t possess any matching symbols on their wrists. But Jongho had never initiated any physical contact with him, which left him hoping that there might be more to their relationship - friendship? - than mere convenience after all. 

The merman’s next words could suggest something like it too. “Have you felt something odd lately in the realm of shadows? When you were there?” The question was a discrete approach, an offer. Jongho was reaching out to San deliberately and metaphorically throwing him crumbs. Clues.

“I don’t think so”, San answered, pondering whether something weird had occurred - apart from the announcement that they’d be collaborating with fairies on a four-month-long excursion. 

Jongho stared at him and San shifted a bit uncomfortably in turn. “Interesting. Then it can’t be that strong yet.”

“ _It_?”, San repeated, eyebrows knitting. “What are you implying now? Is there something wrong in the West?”

Jongho crossed his legs with a deep sigh, averting his gaze and letting it return to the pool of sea water to his left. “More or less. It’s been shaken by several waves of imbalance. If anyone, your councils should have noticed it.”

San had one connection reaching as high as to their councils and it led through Seonghwa and his father. He wasn’t sufficiently informed about whatever was going on behind closed doors there and he didn’t suspect that his friend was either, taking into account how much of an unpleasant topic it was for him. “If it’s so bad, why didn’t they give a statement?”

Jongho shook his head. “They probably aren’t concerned with it as of now. Who bothers with some occasional irregularities?” He paused before adding hesitatingly, “The same thing happened in the realm of light, by the way. The reason is unknown.”

San leaned forward, supporting his chin on his folded hands, arms set on his thighs. “Where is this sudden flood of input coming from? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful and intrigued, but are you even allowed to tell me this?”

This time it was Jongho giving a pained smile. “Technically… not.”

“Yet you did.” 

“I did because I’m demanding so much from you. Some stuff should be permitted to be revealed, shouldn’t it?” Jongho’s voice was almost desperate, a need of approval ringing in it. San certainly wouldn’t hesitate to provide it. “Can’t disagree with that. Thanks for trusting me a bit”, he assured the merman, giving a genuine smile of his own and glad to see the latter ease his troubled expression. “Unfortunately I still can’t let you in on more, but… the time will come.”

“I understand.” 

San did. At least that’s what he told himself - everything would be alright in the end if only he kept helping Jongho in his enigmatic quest. And perhaps they were indeed becoming friends along the way.

~*~

Yeosang observed the beautifully blooming rose-gold _aventia_ , standing proudly in its magically nourished soil. Wooyoung and him had managed to tend to the flower well, making it blossom healthily and without any disturbances. Their botany teacher had been overjoyed at the “astonishing result”, praising both their talents in the subject once again.

Now that the plant was through its critical initiation stage, it would become easier to keep it alive. The constant supervision wasn’t needed anymore and Yeosang was admittedly glad. As much of an exciting challenge it had provided to look after such a demanding flower, he was ready to put his focus into his other subjects - starting with his _dark magic_ class this morning. He’d gotten up early to go through his notes from the last lesson and prepared some potential questions, dedicated as always.

Wooyoung was asleep, snoring softly. Yeosang struggled to contain his amusement at the sight of the fairy lying sprawled over his bed, sheets tangled without a care. His partner wasn’t nearly as diligent as him, but to be fair, that was a difficult task to accomplish in general. What mattered was that Wooyoung tried his best though, regardless of what it was. He _could_ put in a commendable effort into something when he wanted to - like for making the flower bloom successfully, not counting the one mishap that had cost Yeosang an uncomfortable number of nerves.

Indeed he found himself irritated by Wooyoung often as ever, knowing that it was the same for the latter, demonstrated through their regular jibes and sarcastic remarks. They noticed their differences more than ever these days, turning them into an underlying tension that stayed below the boiling point, persisting nonetheless. It wasn’t pleasant per se, but also not awful. It was… _invigorating_. In a convoluted way. 

Yeosang sighed quietly, dragging his gaze away from the _aventia_ and putting his notebook back into his bag. He was about to leave their room, early as usual, when he found a letter laying right on the doorstep. 

_Already? Can’t they give us a break for once?_ he thought exhaustedly, his relief about being able to solely focus on his classes for a while evaporating rapidly. He picked up the piece of paper, unfolding it without preamble. His eyes trailed over the neatly written words, typically phrased like all of the other assignments before had been. This time he stumbled over them - because this new task wasn’t similar at all to what the others had entailed. No, it was very different.

_A… magical duel?_

A friendly one, at that. The winner didn’t matter, as long as both parties showcased their abilities - they’d need at least two witnesses for that - and didn’t go too far.

Yeosang re-read the paragraph once more, deciding that he’d discuss the issue with Wooyoung right away. He turned back around, striding towards the fairy’s bed and didn’t hesitate to shake his partner awake, touching his shoulder with determination. “Wake up”, he said out loud, relieved when Wooyoung managed to shake off the last bits of sleep. “W-What is it? Is there a fire?” The fairy sat up abruptly, his confused inquiry accompanied by a short shake of his head. He squinted, eyes coming to rest on Yeosang for a few seconds. “What are you still doing here? Did you wake me?”

Yeosang fought down the urge to laugh at Wooyoung’s grouchy appearance, hair mussed and pajamas wrinkled. “I did. And no, there’s no fire”, he reassured the fairy, holding out the letter. “But there might be at some point this week.”

Wooyoung was staring at him suspiciously, visibly affected by the sudden awakening. He snatched the paper from Yeosang’s hand coarsely and suddenly the sleepiness seeped out of his features within a single moment. “A _duel_?”, he screeched, clutching the letter and shifting his wide eyes back to Yeosang. “They want us to hold a _duel_? With witnesses?”

Yeosang nodded. “Seems like it. What do you say?” He gave his partner a challenging look, something sparking inside his veins when he found it mirrored immediately. “I say, that’s going to be _very_ fun.”

“Oh? Do you even know any offensive spells?”, Yeosang teased, Wooyoung scoffing in return. “Contrary to popular belief, fairies _do_ possess quite some knowledge about dueling culture. Just because we don’t tend to practice them, doesn’t mean we can’t when asked to. You’d be surprised at which aces I have up my sleeve, rivaling your curses easily.”

Yeosang crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaning a bit closer. “Then I’m sure you’re looking forward to providing a demonstration of your skills just as much as me?”

Wooyoung held his gaze, fire burning in his own and heating up the air between them, making it crackle with suspense. “You bet.”

And just like that, all the frustration stemming from their initial conflict came back alive, coupled with a healthy amount of ambitiousness. Yeosang was _longing_ to show Wooyoung how much he’d actually been holding back and he knew that the latter wouldn’t mind letting out his own anger as well. It would be freeing. _Healing_.

Which was why they didn’t take long to plan out their duel, recruiting Yunho and Mingi respectively as their witnesses and dragging them to the beach during the break between classes three days later. Considering those two were exceptionally struggling with the new task - honestly, who was shocked that they didn’t want to fight each other in any way? -, they’d offered to help their friends out with it instead. 

“How do you plan on doing this exactly?”, Mingi asked with a faint quiver in his voice once they arrived at the shore. He was standing next to Yeosang, directly opposite of Wooyoung and Yunho. 

“Simple - we’ll hold a classic duel, trying to attack each other with fitting spells”, Wooyoung explained, rubbing his hands together gleefully. He was clearly looking forward to this and Yeosang related greatly to his anticipation. He’d prepared some _fitting_ spells indeed.

“A-Attack? Didn’t it say in the instructions that it should be friendly?”, Yunho frowned, distinctly uneasy. 

“A duel is a duel, no matter if it’s _friendly_ or not”, Wooyoung countered and upon seeing how his friend’s expression didn’t change he added, “It’s totally fine. We’ll try to be careful - right, partner?”

“Yes”, Yeosang confirmed, but Yunho as well as Mingi continued wearing their worried faces. “Come on, let’s begin.”

They increased their distance, Yeosang and Wooyoung facing each other and their witnesses moving away behind each of them and to the side - their job would be watching over the spectacle. It was a rainy day, the usual brightness gone and replaced by greyish clouds assembling and promising a downpour soon. Yeosang wouldn't mind the rain - in fact, it would be to his advantage. Wooyoung evidently shared the sentiment, as he let his eyes roam over the darkened sky appreciatively. Against his better judgment, Yeosang was thrilled to find out what the fairy had in store for him. He’d read about fairies sometimes possessing knowledge of weather magic - as did he, but their approaches would guaranteedly be rather different. As they always were.

Once they were far away enough from each other, Yunho gave the signal to start. Wooyoung didn’t hesitate for another second, immediately channeling some magic in his hands and hitting Yeosang with a decisive gust of wind. It only made him stumble a little, even if he’d been caught off-guard by the sudden attack. “Not bad”, he complimented, earning him a smug grin from his partner. A fleeting grin that was wiped away swiftly when Yeosang sent back his own version of an offensive wind spell, sharper and more precise in its route. Wooyoung evaded the slicing breeze skillfully, seriousness returning to his features. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

They went back and forth like that for a while, each of them summoning their own variations of spells befitting for a magical duel. Yeosang enjoyed it, taking note of Wooyoung’s every action and planning his own reactions out accordingly, mixing elemental magic with attack curses that the fairy deflected every time. Yunho and Mingi kept watching them critically, still apprehensive and on edge.

Eventually rain began falling down on them, the sky dimmed by the heavy clouds and releasing the summer shower. Mingi and Yunho hurriedly manifested a protective shield as a roof above their heads, keeping them relatively dry. Meanwhile Wooyoung appeared just as pleased as ever by the fortunate occurrence. “Finally”, he said, quick to gather the falling raindrops around him and form them into a sizable mass of water that he sent straight into Yeosang’s direction right after. 

For a change, Yeosang didn’t move out of the way on purpose, letting the water hit him and send the accompanying energy Wooyoung had infused it with through his body. It gave him the chance to analyse the fairy’s energy level and get a better feeling for his strategy. 

_He’s using his powers for reforming the shape of whatever element he’s channeling. He’s using what’s_ given _and lets the natural energies come to him on their own, leaving them unchanged in their essence_ , he thought, readying a counter-attack. Contrary to his partner’s approach, he wouldn’t hesitate to manipulate his surroundings with his magic. He moved his hands through the rain and turned the drops gathering around them into tiny shards of ice. The freezing spell was a true standard to cast and never lost its charm. Once he was satisfied by the amount of icy shards, he sent them at Wooyoung in a cold spray. 

The fairy apparently hadn’t expected such a reaction, barely managing to summon a shield to guard himself from the prickly needles. Some still found their goal and left minuscule cuts along his arms and face. It made him take a step back and put a hand to a particularly outstanding scratch on his cheek. 

_Nice one_ , Yeosang praised himself inwardly for the smart move, minimally regretting it though when Wooyoung returned his gaze to him and Yeosang found that it was void of any playfulness. “Now you’ve done it”, the fairy seethed and it was uncharacteristically menacing, Yeosang feeling an additional chill running over his back that had nothing to do with the cool rain drenching him from head to toe. Wooyoung raised his arms towards the sky, closing his eyes in preparation. What came next could’ve turned out pretty ugly if Yeosang had been a millisecond late to react. 

Predictably, the fairy turned to weather magic next and it left Yeosang momentarily speechless and stunned when the silent downpour transformed into a small thunderstorm, centered around their spot. Following a rumbling thunder, a flash of blinding lightning came down and Yeosang put up a magical barrier at the last moment before it could strike him. It was an admittedly strong hit, the magic behind it filled with heat and fiery emotions strengthening it. Yeosang felt the pressure on his barrier, arms shaking from the effort of holding it up. 

_Impressive_ , he thought. He never would’ve believed that a fairy would be able to summon such a strong spell, unleashing it powerfully. Their normally gentle exterior really seemed to be more of a facade in the end, crumbling frighteningly fast as soon as one crossed them. Yeosang felt his whole world view shifting at the discovery, understanding at once how absolutely naive and pretentious it had been to brand them as weaklings.

_But I’m not weak either._

Yeosang took a while to recover from Wooyoung’s spell, the latter looking almost disappointed at his successful defense. Now it was time to retaliate in turn - Yeosang concentrated on his own version of weather magic, forcing his will into the thundering clouds, bending their energies to his wishes and effectively releasing the same kind of lightning on his partner. 

The same inherently, but acquired so differently. Again, Wooyoung had summoned its power by using his magic to pray for and guide it, while Yeosang had merely manipulated the weather phenomenon to serve his intentions without any synchronization. His way of handling these things was undeniably more draining for that reason, but it was the solitary possibility he knew and had ever learned.

Unsurprisingly Wooyoung had seen the attack coming this time and guarded himself just as much, nonetheless straining under its weight and gasping once it was over. Yeosang met the fairy’s glare, reciprocating it and daring him to throw another bolt of lightning at him. 

“Calm down, you two! Those spells are too heavy for a _friendly_ duel!”, Mingi yelled at them through the enhanced downpour. “Don’t you think it’s enough? Let’s just declare it a tie!”, Yunho added, equally stressed. Yeosang ignored them, glad when Wooyoung gave them a response without even sparing them a glance. “No, we’re _not_ done here.” 

And with that he returned to casting his regular spells, this time with more vigor behind them than at the start. Yeosang was happy to comply. With their attacks becoming more aggressive they found themselves both hit several times, more burns and cuts and bruises being inflicted wherever they didn’t manage to guard themselves on time. Yeosang put every bit of frustration and anger into his spells and so did Wooyoung. It was an intense exchange, a clash of unspoken feelings filled with the desire to let them out. None of them was ready to relent and give up, even when they were slowly but steadily running out of energy, their magic drained and overused. 

Yeosang’s breathing had become ragged and so had Wooyoung’s. The flame of the fight was burning out gradually, the spells being cast less frequent and their movements turning sluggish. The thunderstorm cleared away, leaving behind translucently faded, light-grey clouds and a comparably mild drizzle of rain. 

Only now that fatigue was making his body ache did Yeosang notice that the mark on his wrist was spiking with a terrible pain, almost numbing his entire arm. He held onto it with his other one, an expression of hurt betraying his suffering. He was too tired for being concerned with being subtle and thus let Wooyoung witness the action. He found the fairy’s eyes eventually and saw the confirmation in them, a mix of disappointment and acceptance gracing his features. Wooyoung put his own hand around his affected wrist, lips trembling. “I think it’s time to end this”, he said in a watery tone and Yeosang wasn’t even able to give a reply when the fairy summoned a final bout of his magic, drawing out every last piece of it to let it charge at him.

Yeosang shoved the painful sensation coursing through his veins to the back of his mind, focusing on pulling out his last bits of strength as well. Both their final spells hit each other in the open field, colliding in a furious contrast of light and dark magic. Wooyoung tried pushing through with everything he had, but Yeosang wouldn’t let him win.

_I won't give up like that_ , he thought determinedly, clenching his jaw and digging his soles firmer into the wet and slippery sand, maintaining his stance as best as he could. His magic kept streaming, Wooyoung's spell not caving in either and meeting it in a stubborn clash of energies. Somewhere to his left, the voices of their friends were calling out and probably telling them to stop, but neither of them cared. Yeosang pushed out his final reserve of magic, letting it go and then falling to his knees when he had nothing left to give anymore. He could see Wooyoung stumbling on the ground too, mirroring him while the stagnant remains of their connected spells began dissolving in the air between them.

Raindrops were still sliding down Yeosang’s skin, drenching his already soaked clothes even more and weighing him down like lead. The exhilarating adrenaline of the primary confrontation was far gone, replaced by dots suddenly swimming in his vision. It felt as if all his magic had been sucked out of him, never to be regained. Dull sounds and words reached his ears once more, but he couldn’t decipher what they were saying, losing his balance and control of his limbs, falling sideways.

And then he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY.  
> But, uh... thoughts?


	16. XV

When Yeosang woke up he was in an unfamiliar bed looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. His head hurt terribly and he couldn’t help but let out a groan when he tried sitting up, only to find his upper body being tortured by a needling pain. He fell back onto his pillow unceremoniously, lifting a hand to his forehead and trying to even out his breathing after his hurting chest calmed down.

“Good morning, sunshine”, came a raspy remark from his left. 

Yeosang turned his head into the direction with effort, discovering Wooyoung in the bed next to him, the sole thing separating them a little nightstand. His partner looked like he’d been through the underworld trials - twice. If how he himself was feeling was any indication, he probably didn’t appear much better.

“Where are we?”, Yeosang asked, encountering major difficulties in pressing out the words through his dry throat. 

“In the castle’s infirmary”, came the matter-of-fact response.

“How did we get here?”

A weak chuckle. “Take a wild guess. Yunho and Mingi brought us here after the end of our face-off. They went to get a teacher.”

 _Our magical duel._ Memories floated back into Yeosang’s mind, flashes of Wooyoung and him exchanging unpleasant spells and unexpected hurt and then… nothing. “We… overdid it, huh?”, he offered, the croak in his voice underlining the rhetorical question strongly.

“You can say that out loud. You've been knocked out for some time and I've only been awake myself for like ten minutes.” Wooyoung let out a breath through his teeth, closing his eyes. Yeosang pretended not to be as bothered by the scratches and burns scattered over his face and exposed arms as he most certainly was. He had inflicted those on his partner and his guilty conscience was having a field trip with it. Admittedly, the latter had retaliated in kind, not sparing him in any way. They were even.

When the fairy didn’t say anything else for a while, Yeosang nearly succumbed to exhaustion again, the pounding of his head and the uncomfortable prickling on his skin where the after-effects of magic were running along it, making him want to go back to being unconscious as soon as possible. Wooyoung didn’t allow him to.

“We really are idiots, aren’t we?”

Yeosang found that he didn’t have any actual vigor left to disagree. “We are. The most stubborn and stupid fools I’ve ever seen”, he said tiredly, the quiet laugh Wooyoung gave at the admission turning out to be balm for his strained ears. 

“Why did we think it would be a good idea to attack each other like that? There was no way it would go well.”

“I can tell you why.” Yeosang made another attempt to push himself up on the extremely soft mattress, this time on his elbow. Wooyoung laid fully on his side, facing him with an open expression. Yeosang inhaled, ignoring the ache in his lungs at the action and at his new position. “We never got to let out all our frustration that built up over the weeks. Even when we decided to get along, it sometimes remained a nuisance to work together. The negative aspects stayed just as much as the positive ones and right then this opportunity presented itself - how could we not have acted like that, considering there was finally a possibility to free ourselves of all the pressure?”

Wooyoung kept staring at him. “That makes a lot of sense. It all comes down to us never having properly sorted out our issues, floating along mediocrely the whole time.”

“Yes. There was no other choice.”

Wooyoung hummed, blinking twice. “Not to make it sound weird, but I kinda feel better now. Even if my body is hurting in places that I’ve never felt before.”

Now it was Yeosang’s turn to laugh shortly. “It’s the same for me. The pain is almost freeing - metaphorical for what we perhaps should’ve went over verbally, yet we chose to go for the brutal approach.”

“Like the blockheads we are.”

They looked at each other for a few more seconds before bursting into laughter simultaneously. Yeosang didn’t even care for the bouts of hurt flashing through his limbs at the action, focusing on the somewhat irrational joy he felt instead. 

“Leave it to us to do things complicated and messed up even though they could be handled easily in another, less problematic way”, Wooyoung said when his laughter faded. “Sorry... for hitting you like that."

"I apologize as well. Just because it was needed, doesn't mean it was fine."

Wooyoung fixed his gaze on Yeosang once more. "Now that we have this done - can we continue on a path that’s free of all that damn _frustration_?”

Oh, how Yeosang wanted to do that. More than anything else. 

“I’m not sure that’s even possible when working with someone like you. Infuriating, chaotic, feisty and easily distracted...”, Yeosang teased, earning him a very characteristic pout from Wooyoung. The fairy opened his mouth, but before he could react, Yeosang carried on talking. “... but also smart and kind and funny and many more admirable qualities that many people could use a slice of.” 

He trailed off softly at the end, meeting his partner’s eyes earnestly and relishing in the latter’s expression freezing with his lips still parted. The blush appearing on his cheeks was quick and not subtle in the slightest. “Y-You can’t just s-say something like that”, he sputtered, grabbing his blanket and pulling it over his head to hide. 

_He’s so cute._

“I most definitely can.” Yeosang might have felt accomplished in having taken Wooyoung off-guard with his compliments, but the fairy wouldn’t let it sit on him just like that, as he provided an embarrassed grumbling from under his sheets. “And what if I tell you that you’re just as great? You’re a genius in every subject, dedicated and always able to keep your cool. Sure, you’re also annoying and nitpicky and a know-it-all, but guess what? I don’t care. You’re my partner and I’ll accept your flaws just like you’re accepting mine.”

He pulled the blanket away, hair tousled and cheeks a bright red. Yeosang had a striking suspicion that he’d soon look the same with how heat began flowing from his partner mark and spreading throughout his body, soothing the pain everywhere. He had to admit to Wooyoung that he could feel it too, especially after how their duel had ended. There was no better moment than now. He cleared his throat.

“T-Thank you. The flower hasn’t felt this warm in quite some time”, he said casually, Wooyoung’s eyes widening noticeably and with undeniable flashbacks from earlier going through his mind. “You _knew_ what I was talking about back then. You’ve felt it as well all this time.”

Yeosang swallowed. “I did. It never stopped.”

Wooyoung considered him, eventually stretching out his arm to bridge over the distance between their beds. Yeosang met him halfway, the fairy grabbing hold of his hand immediately and squeezing it. The second they touched, goosebumps erupted on Yeosang’s skin, starkly contrasting yet intensifying the heat rushing through his veins. It made him gasp, Wooyoung mirroring him.

 _This can’t be normal. None of the others is experiencing it. There’s something more going on between us._ Yeosang let his gaze wander from their locked hands to Wooyoung’s face, the other doing the same. 

“Friends?”, the fairy inquired, voice tiny and laced with so much hope that it tore on Yeosang’s heartstrings. His pulse picked up and this time it was him squeezing his partner’s hand. 

“Friends.”

~*~

Hongjoong was on the way to the infirmary. After Mingi had returned to their room this late afternoon following his own second class of the day and still visibly spooked, he had dropped everything and listened to what the wizard told him, leaving him just as shocked. Wooyoung and Yeosang had gone ahead and hurt themselves by holding a real spell duel. Hongjoong had thought that they’d laid off their differences, much like Seonghwa and him, but it seemed they were far from it. In spite of Mingi assuring him that both were fine and resting - had been for the whole afternoon, apparently -, Hongjoong wasn’t able to quell his worry for Wooyoung, swiftly deciding to pay him a visit, giving him a piece of mind in the process. 

_That idiot. What was he thinking?_

Hongjoong was fuming with wrath that was born out of pure concern, praying that Mingi had been right in his tellings that they were alright. He turned the final corner to reach the infirmary’s door - he’d been here once before on the third day following their arrival, exploring the castle - and was about to throw it open, when it did so by itself. Or rather, someone was opening it and Hongjoong found himself face to face with none other than Seonghwa.

The wizard stopped in his tracks upon spotting him. “I can imagine why you’re here”, he said after a short silence.

Hongjoong let out a deep sigh. “Our dear friends are hopeless, aren’t they?”

A small smile flickered over Seonghwa’s lips and Hongjoong had to put in an effort to not keep his eyes fixed on them for too long. “Foolish as what they did was, I think they can move on now from whatever was still standing between them. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”

Hongjoong held his gaze. “Yeah. Very much so.”

“Hongjoong, is that you? Stop flirting and get in”, a voice called from somewhere inside the infirmary, evidently recognizable as Wooyoung’s, followed by snort that had to be coming from Yeosang. 

_I’m gonna strangle him_ , Hongjoong thought, suppressing the embarrassed blush threatening to come up at his friend’s suggestive remark. Seonghwa appeared to be dealing with a similar struggle, as he quickly averted his eyes and moved aside. “I-I’m gonna wait for you. I think we should discuss how we want to deal with our own duel situation.”

Hongjoong nodded briefly. “That’s a nice suggestion. Give me five minutes.”

Seonghwa stepped back and Hongjoong entered the infirmary at last. It wasn’t particularly big but also not tiny. Three beds lined its walls on its left and right side respectively. Two of them were occupied by a certain duo of partners, nonchalantly leaning against their headrests and glowing mutedly with prolonged healing spells cast over them. It was the work of one of their fairy professors no doubt, but he wasn’t present at the moment.

Hongjoong ignored Yeosang completely, striding straight towards Wooyoung and crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you insane? What compelled you to agree to holding such a dangerous magical duel?”

Wooyoung pouted at him. “Listen, it wasn’t even that bad.”

“Not _that bad_? You hurt each other so much that you fainted and now you both ended up in sickbeds. Would you call that _good_?”

“No, but-”

“No buts! You can be glad that you got away with it remotely unscathed”, Hongjoong continued scolding him, shifting his attention to Yeosang next. “Was it your idea? Did you force him to do it?”

Yeosang gave him an unimpressed look, remaining quiet. Luckily Wooyoung was quick to speak for the wizard, almost indignantly so. “ _No_ , he didn’t. It was a decision based on mutual consent. We’re both equally at fault.”

Hongjoong glared at Yeosang for a few more seconds before returning to Wooyoung. “Mutual stupidity, you mean. I hope you at least learned from it. There’s no fun in matters such as these.”

Wooyoung took a deep breath. “I know. Sorry for worrying you.”

Hongjoong felt his anger lessening tremendously at the apology. “As long as you understand. I’m just relieved that you’re alright.”

“I’ll be as good as new by tomorrow. There won’t be any more troubles with us”, Wooyoung promised, grinning optimistically and exchanging a glance with Yeosang. Hongjoong observed how the wizard kept staring at his friend for longer than necessary after Wooyoung had already looked away again, something heavier and lingering layered in his eyes. It could mean many things. Hongjoong hoped that it wouldn’t be anything negative and that Wooyoung would be right in his assumptions. Otherwise he wouldn’t hesitate to have Yeosang’s head. 

“Don’t you have someone waiting for you?”, Wooyoung pulled Hongjoong back to reality. He didn’t like the teasing undertone in which the question had been asked, fighting down a blush once more. “None of your business. You should focus on getting back on track.”

“Oh, I will do just that, while you’re out having some quality time with Seonghwa”, Wooyoung giggled and for the first time since Hongjoong had joined them, Yeosang spoke as well. “If it is the assignment you’re worried about, let me assure you that Seonghwa knows some extravagant curses, so you should prepare yourself. Although I don’t think he’d be able to cast them on you with how smitten he is these days - let it be told to you by his best friend.”

Hongjoong felt his ears burning with heat. Yeosang looked at him knowingly and it was vaguely mortifying. “W-We’ll think of something else”, he merely said, turning around and making his way back to the infirmary’s door.

“Good luck!”, Wooyoung called out and Hongjoong threw a word of thanks over his shoulder, exiting the room without further ado. He didn’t have any time to calm down his boiling blood that had been affected by Yeosang’s statement, promptly being confronted by Seonghwa leaning against the wall opposite the door. The wizard gave him a grin. "Done with scolding them? I think they've heard enough lecturing by now to last them for a year."

"They better actually take it seriously though." Hongjoong was glad that his voice betrayed nothing of the embarrassment having risen up a minute ago. He certainly wouldn't dwell on it more, returning to their own situation instead. "So, what are we going to do?" 

Seonghwa let out a sigh. "Let's talk while we walk." Where to wasn't defined but Hongjoong didn't mind, falling into step next to his partner easily. “I don’t suppose you’re in the mood for a classic duel of our own?”, he asked sarcastically. Seonghwa gave a pained smile at the suggestion. “It’s up to you to believe me, but contrary to your potential expectations I’d rather not inflict any pain on you. I’d hoped it would be the same for you.”

Hongjoong’s heartbeat fluttered. Yeosang hadn’t been so wrong apparently and it just added to the rising affection Hongjoong was steadily experiencing the longer and better he got to know Seonghwa. He cleared his throat. “No, I don’t want to hurt you either. Not anymore, that is.”

Seonghwa looked at him pointedly and it made Hongjoong laugh, the wizard breaking into a chuckle of his own at it. “Glad we have that settled. What other choices are there then?”

“Something that we have in common and that can be compared in a competition.”

“That can’t leave all that many possibilities with how different fairies and witches are.”

“Are we really?”

Hongjoong was surprised at his own words and considering Seonghwa’s equally perplexed eyes turning to him once more, he was too. “You tell me. I gotta admit that I’m startlingly bad informed when it comes to fairies”, the wizard said after a few moments of contemplative silence.

“Hmm, let me think. First of all, we’re not truly human, but I’m assuming you knew _that_. Unlike you magically gifted people, us fairies have pure magic flowing through our whole being. Our visual and auditory senses are sharper than yours and we can summon our wings at will to fly wherever we want to - not too high and far away from the ground at best, as it’s quite uncomfortable to lose our connection to earth.”

Seonghwa was listening intently, honestly intrigued. “That is interesting. I didn’t know that it was important for you to stay close to the ground. You do enjoy flying though, don’t you?”

“Oh, absolutely. There’s nothing more satisfying than the freedom of being carried on the wind and fluttering through the forest without a care”, Hongjoong gushed happily, raising his eyebrows at Seonghwa when the latter snorted. “I’m sorry, but the mental image forming from your description is so very fitting for the fairy stereotype.”

“At least we _can_ fly, swiftly and unlimitedly so”, Hongjoong huffed.

“We can too”, Seonghwa defended and Hongjoong looked at him incredulously. “Witches have brooms. Infused with complex spellwork and highly effective for crossing short as well as long distances within reasonable amounts of time.”

The amusement carried on to Hongjoong momentarily. “I’m sure they can’t be _that_ fast.” Then he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening when an idea rose up before his inner eye. 

“Trust me, they _are_ ”, Seonghwa insisted, taking another step and halting when he noticed his partner’s expression. “What is it?” Then, portraying a face of revelation too moments later, “Are we thinking of the same thing right now?”

Hongjoong felt the corners of his mouth rising in a pleased grin. “Presumably.”

“A race”, they said simultaneously.

“That’s it! We’ll hold a race - my wings versus your broom. It’s perfect”, Hongjoong cheered, grateful to see Seonghwa share his excitement for their newfound solution to the duel dilemma. “This took a welcome turn. I’m not opposed to the idea at all”, the wizard agreed. “When do you want to do this?”

They’d reached the entrance hall, the evening sun bathing the aquamarine shiny walls around them in an orange glow. The darkness and rain had disappeared, making way for a beautiful sundown. Several students from both factions were milling around, going out and in alike, enjoying and bathing in the final bits of daylight or returning to their rooms before it would be dinner time.

Hongjoong glanced at Seonghwa, pushing aside the intrusive thoughts of how unfairly ethereal he looked, the light making his skin appear golden instead of its usually paler tone. _Snap out of it_ , he scolded himself, ignoring how dry his throat suddenly felt. “How about… now?”, he eventually said with a noticeable delay. Seonghwa regarded him curiously. “Now? Isn’t it too late?”

“Come on, don’t you wanna gain the once-in-a-lifetime experience of competing in an airborne race by the ocean during a stunning sunset?” Hongjoong looked at Seonghwa pleadingly, getting closer and slightly on the tips of his toes, invading the wizard’s personal space. He was relishing in the flustered sputter Seonghwa responded with, stumbling back a bit ungracefully. “W-When you phrase it like that… it _does_ sound tempting.”

_Got him._

“Great - we just need some referees then.” Hongjoong didn’t bother hiding his giddiness at the prospect of being able to hold their duel soon. His initial concern and anger about the incident with Wooyoung and Yeosang was morphing into something so much more fun and exhilarating quickly. “Mingi told me he’d spend some time with Yunho and San at their room after relaying the unfortunate news from earlier to me. Let’s go find them.”

Seonghwa wasn’t even able to disagree or say anything at all because this time Hongjoong actually grabbed his forearm, dragging him with him unceremoniously. The wizard let it happen without complaint - the barely-there sigh that could be heard behind him didn’t count -, so Hongjoong assumed that it was fine. It was oddly reminiscent of the evening where they’d found out that they would be partners. Hongjoong had also touched Seonghwa’s arm back then, callously and with less than friendly intentions. _How things have changed._

And changed they had, since when Seonghwa smoothly lifted his own hand higher to properly hold onto his hand, Hongjoong didn’t show any outward reaction, letting them stay connected wordlessly. He prayed to the spirits that his ears weren’t as red as they felt. Only when they reached their friends’ room did they separate under the pretense of knocking, eyes meeting briefly before they both averted them instantly. 

“Come in!” It was Yunho’s voice, making Hongjoong open the door finally. Yunho didn’t seem surprised to see him. He was perched on his bed, Mingi’s head basically in his lap from where the wizard was sitting on the floor and leaning against him. 

_These two._ They were getting increasingly obvious and Hongjoong wouldn’t lie about being a bit tired of Yunho’s constant pining. As if Mingi didn’t _clearly_ reciprocate his feelings. For both their sake, Hongjoong hoped that they’d come to terms with their emotions at some point. All the while San remained at his desk, essentially third-wheeling yet not minding it from the looks of it. 

Hongjoong clapped his hands together. “We request your help. I know you’ve already suffered through one disastrous duel today, but I promise this one won’t be nearly as disappointing. Isn’t that right, partner?”

Seonghwa nodded. “We want to hold a race and we need you as witnesses and referees.”

San frowned and Yunho and Mingi were gaping at them with the exact same expression. “A _race_? On foot?”, Yunho asked, visibly uncertain. “That wouldn’t include magic though…”, he muttered right after, the gears turning in his head.

“ _Oh_ , I got it! You’re flying, right?”, Mingi threw in and Hongjoong gave him a thumbs up. The wizard got up, coming closer and putting a hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder. “If you need my flying spell, you’re free to use it anytime.” Hongjoong remembered the amusing incident of Mingi almost throwing himself out of the window because he’d been convinced that he’d be able to fly on his own. Luckily Yunho had been able to stop him.

Seonghwa laughed. “Thanks, but that won’t be necessary. I’m going to take my broom.”

“Like the prime example of a wizard that you are”, San added humorously, getting up from his seat. “I’m in. Which location did you choose?”

“We haven’t thought about that yet. It was a spontaneous decision”, Seonghwa said, followed by Yunho joining them as well. “How about a triangle formation around the castle? Each of us three could mark one corner and it would be easier to create a straight track from one person to the next.”

Hongjoong was thrilled. “ _You_ are a genius. That’s how we’re going to do it. Maybe… three rounds around the castle like that?”, he suggested, turning to Seonghwa, finding an ambitious glint in the wizard’s eyes. “Sounds good to me.”

So they went outside - Mingi, Yunho and San split up while keeping each of their wrists connected by a shiny translucent ribbon of trailing magic cast by Seonghwa. It worked well in making them form an actual triangle shape through distancing themselves and was also convenient in providing a visual outline of the route. Upon Hongjoong giving Seonghwa an impressed look for facilitating their task like this, the wizard had explained that the simple connection spell was one of the first things to be learned in the West, parents often casting it on their younger children to prevent them from getting lost in the partly chaotic bustling and darkness in the crowded cities. _The more you know._

Some of the students gave them curious looks but no one questioned their actions. They separated and ultimately Mingi was standing behind the castle on the beach, marking the starting point with Seonghwa and Hongjoong next to him. Yunho would be the second point, the ribbon reaching towards the left side of the forest entrance - and San made up the third pillar at the right side, Mingi’s wrists connected in both directions. It was a decent route and they’d be doing three rounds anyway. 

Hongjoong was vibrating in his shoes, eager to get off the ground and leave Seonghwa behind in a cloud of dusty sand. He could feel the power of his wings humming beneath his skin, merely distracted when Seonghwa summoned his broom - an elegantly carved thing made out of dark and noble wood - without any trouble, manifesting it out of thin air. “Just a teleportation spell. I can move it to wherever I want it to be at any given time this way”, the wizard explained, obviously smug in Hongjoong being unceasingly fascinated with all the new things he was learning, but it didn’t last long and the competitiveness returned to his features.

“Fancy. Let’s put its abilities to test.” He made his fairy wings appear without further ado, fluttering them in anticipation with his feet hovering slightly above the ground. Seonghwa gave a final grin, mounting his broom and getting in position as well. 

“Don’t overdo it, you two. It’s just a race”, Mingi warned, understandably concerned after the disastrous duel he’d already been forced to witness earlier in the day - one of those was more than enough. “Three rounds in total. That means you’ll pass me twice and then it counts as the finish line. Although…” He put a hand to his chin, squinting at something to his left. “Do you see this rock formation at the end of the beach? Let’s make those the final goal you have to reach - makes it a bit more exciting.”

Hongjoong nodded. It would prove to be another challenge, since they both would have to slow down early enough as to not crash into the rocks. That was probably the exact thing Mingi had in mind with his suggestion too.

“No problem”, Seonghwa said breezily. “Shall we begin now?” He was getting impatient and Hongjoong didn’t blame him - he couldn’t wait to get started either.

"Let's do this", Hongjoong confirmed and Mingi gave a final deep sigh, stepping back. He counted down from three to one and felt his motivation sparking, catching the exact moment Mingi finished his countdown and setting off immediately, just like Seonghwa. 

_Time to show him what I'm made of._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter simultaneously added and took 10 years of my lifespan. Originally I didn't want to split it, but since I've been hit with a small writer's block and had a very exhausting week, I went for it after all to give myself some more time. I hope this is fine for now! :)
> 
> Also, Fireworks SOTY.


	17. XVI

Hongjoong’s surroundings were fading into a blur quickly, replaced by the revitalizing sensation of the wind carrying him on his wings and brushing along his skin. He raced along the faintly shining line, maximally focused and with one goal in mind. He sensed Seonghwa close by, slightly behind and hot on his heels. Maybe witch brooms were more impressive than Hongjoong had originally thought.

When the time for the first turn came, he slowed down, but not too much, passing by Yunho - who gave an enthusiastic wave - without trouble and proud about his wings and their unmatched maneuverability. When he threw a smug look behind him though, he found that the distance between him and Seonghwa hadn’t increased significantly, the wizard managing to take the turn without any notable delay. And he was gaining speed again, fast.

_Not bad._

But not nearly good enough.

Hongjoong continued on his route, not paying mind to Seonghwa more than necessary. Some students from below actually cheered them on, watching their race with excitement. Far too soon they had reached the final round, passing Mingi for the second time. Hongjoong was confident that he’d win, Seonghwa still behind him, if not very far - one mistake and the wizard could turn the tables on him unpleasantly. Which was why Hongjoong planned on ignoring him for the last round just as much, but Seonghwa wasn’t having it. 

“Hey!”, the wizard called, effectively drawing Hongjoong’s attention against his better judgement. “I gotta tell you something.” 

_What’s this about now?_ Hongjoong didn’t have time to wonder about Seonghwa’s intentions, as the latter caught up to him gradually, making Hongjoong realize that he’d slowed down involuntarily. When they were side by side, Hongjoong looked at his partner with an evident frown. “What is it?”

Seonghwa gave him a grin. “The sunset is beautiful.” 

Hongjoong rolled his eyes and looked away without a comment, increasing his speed a bit more - they were nearing San’s turning point -, but Seonghwa wasn’t finished. “It is beautiful - but not as beautiful as you.” At that, Hongjoong turned back towards the wizard, staring at him with wide eyes and promptly at a complete loss of words - or anything, really. _Where did_ that _come from?_

He was so distracted by the seemingly random statement, that he temporarily forgot about the approaching turn, noticing too late how he hadn’t slowed down properly, flying too far and ending up making an excessively wide curve to get back on track. Seonghwa let out a laugh, passing him without any struggle. Their positions were reversed and only now Hongjoong recognized what had just happened. Seonghwa had messed with him on purpose, knowing how he’d react and using Hongjoong being flustered to his advantage. It would’ve angered Hongjoong if it hadn’t been so clever, simply so. As for the reason why it had worked in the first place, _that_ was an entirely different story. A story he didn’t have time to dwell on for now. He had a race to win.

_Don’t celebrate yet._

Hongjoong put more energy into his wings, letting his inner magic flow through them even stronger. He was glad to see that it helped him gain quite a lot of additional speed, the distance to Seonghwa’s lead position decreasing rapidly. The wizard took note of that too, turning around briefly before Hongjoong heard him mutter something under his breath, allowing his broom to make use of everything it had. They passed Mingi for the third time, both way faster than during the other rounds. This was the final sprint.

 _I won’t lose_ , Hongjoong thought determinedly, his pulse picking up even more when he finally reached Seonghwa and exchanged another look with him. This time neither of them said anything, the tension too high - in an uplifting way. Hongjoong felt _alive_ , every ounce of his magic running through his veins and on the adrenaline provided by the thrill of the race. Seonghwa’s little stunt had added to this thrill even more - Hongjoong should be grateful.

They were just about to reach the rock formation, its jagged form coming closer startlingly quick. Hongjoong pulled out his last ace, wings shining and fluttering at the highest possible speed, keeping it up for as long as he could - because by controlling them through his will he’d be able to stop way more efficiently than the wizard ever could with his broom. Seonghwa fell back, presumably for exactly that reason, the space between them increasing. 

_All according to plan._

As expected, Hongjoong reached the rocks first, forcefully shutting down his wings’ overdrive and stopping abruptly. He braced his hands on the rocks, the impact not gentle but comparably manageable.

He'd won.

He gingerly set his feet on the ground, palms sliding against the rocks. Behind him, he heard Seonghwa come back down as well.

"That… that was great", Hongjoong gasped, smiling and absolutely satisfied with himself and his performance. "I haven't had this much fun… in ages." 

He turned around, finding Seonghwa leaning into his broom and mirroring his smile. He looked anything but mad at his loss, as close as it had been. "Same for me. I'm definitely impressed by your wings - it's an earned victory. You did very well."

Hongjoong felt butterflies in his stomach at the wizard's honest praise, sobering up at the kind and serious words. He wanted to give something back. "Thanks, but you know, you almost had me. What was that comment about?”

To his surprise, it was Seonghwa who appeared flustered now, the pink tint on his cheeks not merely given through the exhaustion of the race anymore. “I had to pass you _somehow_.” He glanced at Hongjoong shyly. “And it’s not like I lied. I was just stating facts.”

Hongjoong’s mind went blank for a few seconds before he managed to give a weak response. “U-Umm… yeah, it was a smart move. And… thank you, I guess.” _You’re such an idiot_ , he proceeded to scold himself internally, hating the awkwardness rising between them. _Why did I even ask?_ He had to return to the topic at hand. “But even if you hadn’t distracted me, it was very close. Your magical technologies are truly something else, not to be underestimated."

Seonghwa stared at him, picking up on the statement immediately and with his expression changing into disbelief. "Do you really think so? You don't think they're awful and abusing magic?" 

Hongjoong gave a small sigh. "Maybe some of your methods remain questionable, but that doesn't mean they're inherently bad. Even I gotta admit that." He hesitated, taking a step towards Seonghwa regardless. "Plus, there's always room for improvement. I'm sure the more advanced it all becomes, the less problematic it's going to turn out."

Seonghwa kept staring at him, visibly at a loss for words. "I…" He swallowed once. "I never would've thought to hear anything like this from you. Or any fairy, for that matter." He took a step as well. "I'm glad that you'd be willing to give our inventions a chance. If only more fairies would think like that."

"Trust me, the time will come. And when it does, we can perhaps all work together to combine our efforts into something even greater", Hongjoong encouraged and he meant it. From what he'd experienced so far, he'd be taking the lesson back home that it wouldn't do any good at all to let himself be blinded by stereotypes and singular bad instances constantly. Everything about the discord between witches and fairies was so much more complex than he'd ever thought. There was no black-or-white to their situation as he'd formerly thought. There were so many different layers bleeding into each other and making a complicated whole that would make both sides benefit without a doubt if they'd let themselves be open to change and contrasting mindsets. 

And magic was in between it all - their connecting component. 

“I hope you’re right”, Seonghwa said, quiet and with a faithful gaze. Hongjoong’s breath got stuck in his throat. They looked at each other, a certain kind of understanding settling within both of them. Seonghwa opened his mouth to say something else, when the moment was broken through their three friends joining them with loud cheers. 

"That was amazing! You both flew so fast!", Yunho praised, joined by Mingi nodding vigorously and San clapping his hands. 

Hongjoong had to tear himself out of the temporary trance he'd found himself trapped in, blinking a few times. Luckily Seonghwa was quicker to regain his composure. "Glad you enjoyed our show", he said, giving the others a smile. His eyes returned to Hongjoong's for another moment, something more profound shining through. "It was worth it."

Hongjoong's heart skipped a beat. _Yes. It was worth it._

“So, who even won?”, Mingi asked and Hongjoong replied right away, appreciating the possibility to get his thoughts back to the race and not his partner and how he was affecting him. “Me, obviously.”

“ _Obviously_ ”, Yunho repeated. “Fairy wings are just superior.”

“It looked pretty close though”, Mingi threw in and Seonghwa shrugged. “I tried my best.”

They kept conversing for a while, Yunho and Mingi eventually separating from them because they wanted to stay on the beach a bit longer. Hongjoong couldn’t blame them, considering the stunning sundown - although it brought him back to Seonghwa’s compliment again and he couldn’t help the blush creeping back up. Luckily neither San or Seonghwa noticed. Hongjoong found the former looking back to the rock formation with an unreadable expression on his face. He probably would’ve dwelled on it more if he weren’t so caught up in his own whirlwind of emotions. So when San excused himself as well, claiming he wanted to take care of something else, he didn’t question it whatsoever. 

And when him and Seonghwa stiffly parted at the castle’s entrance he didn’t particularly like it, but he also was too much of a coward to bring up their previous - evidently unfinished - conversation. Seonghwa seemed to be in a similar situation, leaving for his room after congratulating him once more.

Left alone, Hongjoong contemplated what had just occurred by himself. This race and its outcome had meant more than a mere competition. Him and Seonghwa had taken another, meaningful step in their relationship with it. They were both learning to respect each other and their respective mentalities. It left Hongjoong in a bigger turmoil than ever before, confusion mixing with approval. At the core of it all stood his developing feelings for his partner. Everything he’d learned about Seonghwa through spending time and working with him, additionally to solely watching him had reformed Hongjoong’s initial image of him _so_ immensely, that at this point he was overwhelmed with even vaguely indulging his thoughts of something… _more_ unfolding between them.

A fairy and a wizard who’d started off as bitter rivals, disliking everything about each other at first sight. They were very far from that by now, but despite all the engaging developments, Hongjoong was afraid. Judging by Seonghwa’s actions and behavior, the wizard was dealing with the same dilemma. They _wanted_ to get along and make the best of their time together, but would it work out in the end? Would it be _worth_ it?

 _“It was worth it.”_ It echoed in Hongjoong’s ears. He exhaled shakily. _What am I going to do?_

~*~

“Isn’t it fascinating to see how differently our friends are handling all these tasks?”, Yunho said, a glimmer in his eyes that were looking out to the sea. Mingi and him had stayed behind following their friends’ race, the latter going their own ways and San disappearing mysteriously. 

Mingi had lost count of how often him and Yunho spent their afternoons and evenings here, on the beach and bathed in one gorgeous sunset after another. It had become their favorite spot - just sitting there and catching the last rays of daylight. 

“It certainly is. At the same time it leaves me even more clueless on what to do. Are we going to fail this assignment?”, he asked concernedly, finding his sulky expression reflected by his partner when the latter turned back to him.

“It would suck, but at this point I’m afraid we won’t have much of a choice. Especially since I don’t want to copy either of what we’ve already seen”, Yunho admitted and Mingi could only agree. He wasn’t tempted to have a competition with the fairy in any way, friendly or not. 

Yunho sighed in frustration, pulling a hand through his hair, slightly ruffling the peachy curls. Mingi was mesmerized by the plain gesture as usual, but this time he had an idea rising up at the back of his mind. “I might have a solution after all.”

Yunho looked at him with wide eyes, scooting over and making their legs touch in the process. “What is it?”

Mingi pretended not to be flustered by their proximity, explaining his plan. “What if we cast harmless spells on each other, like we would for a prank or something? One per person should be enough.”

“Interesting approach, but does that even count as a magical duel?” Yunho was clearly intrigued yet he remained skeptical. 

“I think it does. Theoretically, we’re “attacking” each other or potentially making it a competition.”

“Well, then it’s worth a try. We just need our witnesses.”

Mingi felt joy bubbling up at Yunho agreeing to his proposal, eager to make true of what he’d come up with. “We can tell them afterwards. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind claiming they’d seen it.”

Yunho gasped, fakely affronted. “You want them to _lie_ for us? That might be the most witch-like thing you’ve ever suggested.”

Mingi snickered. “Perhaps there’s more to my dark side than you think.”

“Extremely likely.”

“I appreciate your faith in my scheming antics.”

“I’ll always have faith in all of your antics.”

They both started laughing, Yunho ending up with his head leaning on Mingi’s shoulder when they calmed back down. Mingi tried willing his heartbeat to slow down, resisting the urge to bury his nose in Yunho’s soft hair and inhaling his pure and refreshingly floral scent. It was most definitely a fairy thing, Hongjoong and Wooyoung sharing that specific characteristic. But Yunho’s scent was the best for him.

“So, are we gonna do this right now?”, the fairy asked, Mingi taking embarrassingly long to pull out of his daze and figuring out what his partner was referring to. "If you want to?”

Yunho hummed in content. “It’s pretty comfortable here, but I'm inspired.” The way he said it was laced with an anticipation that left Mingi on edge just as much. Not to mention how the fairy apparently enjoyed leaning onto his shoulder. "Oh? Now I'm curious." 

Yunho sat up, catching Mingi’s gaze with his own. “You first. Hit me with your best shot.”

Mingi nearly choked. “I-I will _not_ hit you! I thought we were in agreement about that”, he denied. His indignation sent Yunho into a fit of giggles. “I didn’t mean _literally_. It’s just a figure of speech.”

Mingi felt his cheeks flushing, heat rising swiftly on them in his embarrassment. “I see. Sorry.”

The fairy squeezed his arm comfortingly. “Hey, don’t worry. It was actually really adorable, having you declare once again that you _won’t_ hurt me. The same goes for me.”

The mortifying heat turned to a soothing warmth at Yunho’s words. Mingi straightened his back. “Fine. Let me begin.”

He knew exactly what he’d be doing and Yunho’s expectant eyes on him confirmed him in his endeavour even more. It was small-scale spell, nothing offensive and with its main use lying on the side of disguise magic. Mingi gave a snap of his wrist as soon as the tell-tale purple swirls of the spell’s misty energy were gathering around his fingers, sending them off into Yunho’s direction. They crept up to the fairy’s head, who let it happen with nothing but a subtle intake of breath. Seconds later, Yunho’s hair changed its color - from its normal pastel peach to a vibrant and refreshingly light blue. 

_It worked_ , Mingi thought happily, giggling shortly at Yunho’s confusion as to what had happened to him. “What happened? What did the spell do?”, the fairy asked, hastily putting his hands on his face. “Did something happen to my face?”

Mingi tried appeasing him. “No, everything’s alright. Only your hair changed color - an easy disguise enchantment that’s going to last for a few hours before fading.”

Yunho’s lips formed an o-shape in recognition, instantly followed by a smile. “That’s a cool spell. Which color is my hair now?”

Mingi gulped involuntarily, blinded by the fairy beaming at him and mesmerized by how well the new color fit his partner. The shock of blue hair remarkably added to Yunho's charm, especially with the sunset making it glow and stand out even more prominently. Mingi was conflicted about whether he should be proud of his accomplishment or face-palming for making it even more difficult to hold himself back and digging his own grave in the process. 

“B-Blue.” He cleared his throat. “Because water is your element. It suits you well.”

Yunho’s smile morphed into a wide-eyed expression of pleased curiosity. His cheeks flushed faintly and it was the prettiest sight Mingi had ever laid his eyes on. “Leave it to you to turn something that’s supposed to be a _duel_ into something corny like this.”

“It counts”, Mingi pouted and his heart did a heavy jump when Yunho grabbed his hands. “I know. It’s a perfect solution. I gotta find a mirror to judge the result for myself”, the fairy laughed and Mingi seriously hoped that his partner would like it just as much as him. 

“Now it’s my turn”, Yunho continued, letting go and with concentration returning to his features. “Prepare yourself.”

Mingi felt a sliver of nervousness creeping up at his words, but they were spoken in such a carefree tone that he knew there’d be no point in being worried. He trusted Yunho - probably more than what would be considered reasonable after the comparably short time they’d known each other. But the fairy didn’t take long, snapping his fingers briskly and mumbling a brief incantation, nothing else occurring for a few moments. Mingi frowned a bit while Yunho was back to watching him intently. He was about to figure that whatever the fairy had intended hadn’t worked, opening his mouth but finding himself unable to let out anything other than a… _hiccup_.

He froze, momentarily embarrassed, seeing something content flashing over Yunho’s face. Another hiccup shook his chest and suddenly he knew exactly which spell had been cast on him. One of the classic ones for pranks indeed. “I…”, Mingi began, interrupted yet again by the spell making him hiccup. It was ridiculous. Seeing as how there was bright and genuine amusement sparkling in Yunho’s eyes though, it was totally worth it. 

“Sorry, I thought this would be the best choice. It’s a harmless and rather funny spell, wearing off by itself eventually as well”, the fairy apologized sheepishly and Mingi didn’t have it in him to be mad at him. It _was_ funny. At least for the caster.

“It’s-”, another hiccup, “a cool spell”, he pushed out as fast as he could, proceeding to remain a victim of the pranking magic. “I’m glad you think so”, Yunho laughed. “If it’s any consolation, you’re handling it just as cutely as I expected.”

Mingi merely looked at him, blushing and with another hiccup tearing at him. The fairy cocked his head, leaning in a bit. _What is he scheming now?_

"You know, we could of course wait for the spell to wear off on its own. _But_ there's a cure for hiccups that I know of…", Yunho trailed off, eyes alight with determination. "I can show it to you."

Mingi had a hard time keeping his breathing steady, pulse racing and throat dry. "Please do", he whispered, unable to speak any louder, another hiccup shaking his upper body right after. Yunho held his gaze captive for another second before dropping his own lower. Mingi had barely observed it, when the fairy closed the final bit of distance between their faces, connecting their lips smoothly. 

Mingi froze.

Yunho was kissing him. 

_Yunho_ was _kissing_ him. 

His brain blanked out and he wasn't able to respond in any way, when Yunho pulled back a fraction, meeting his wide eyes. "Surprise", the fairy breathed, waiting for his reaction. 

Mingi was going to melt into a puddle any second. Yunho's voice had dropped to something deeper and enticing, the intense expression on his face far from the former mirth and pulling Mingi in like a merciless current. He was vastly unable to form any words, so he figured that it would suffice to make use of his mouth in a non-verbal way instead. He took off his glasses, put his hand to Yunho's cheek, dragging him back in and pressing their lips together clumsily. Luckily Yunho was able to mend it with a tiny laugh at Mingi's haste, meeting him in a more precise angle effortlessly. This time Mingi closed his eyes, focusing on how wonderful it felt to be kissing the fairy, the latter reciprocating readily and holding onto him in turn. 

It was fantastic. It was invigorating. It was _right_. 

And about time. 

Only after a while did Mingi realize that his hiccups had stopped - Yunho's strategy had worked well. When they finally separated they were both panting. They kept staring at each other, still locked in a half-embrace and processing what had just happened.

"That was… wow." Yunho's statement was accompanied by a breathless chuckle. 

Mingi gulped. "It was my first kiss."

"Mine too."

"I’m honored."

It drew another giggle from Yunho and Mingi's heart soared at the sweet sound. "Will it take a pranking spell every time for you to apply your _cure_?" 

Something playful flickered over Yunho's features. "I simply chose the best way to catch you off-guard. There's nothing more effective to banish hiccups than a good scare. Now that they're gone…" He paused, a humorous but undeniably sincere tone coloring the end of his sentence. "... I'd be more than willing to provide my services for free."

Mingi smiled at the fairy, pecking his lips once more. "I'd love that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally making true of that First Kiss tag ^^ I hope you're all enjoying the development! Thanks a lot again to everyone reading, leaving kudos, comments etc., you're my motivation <3


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